Coronavirus: Spain’s unvaccinated youth turning in droves to hospitals amid Delta variant surge

In Spain, the young are largely socialising while unvaccinated because authorities have strictly prioritised the elderly and most vulnerable groups

As a result, doctors are seeing people in their 20s and early 30s developing serious pneumonia

3-MIN READ3-MIN

People attend the Cruilla music festival in Barcelona, Spain, on Friday. Photo: AP

Published: 9:30pm, 10 Jul 2021Updated: 9:30pm, 10 Jul 2021

Julio Miranda had never felt the threat of the coronavirus too close. With an appointment for his first Covid-19 jab scheduled for mid-July, the 48-year-old house painter was, like many in the vaccine-abundant developed world, eagerly awaiting the end of his personal pandemic worries.

Then a colleague fell ill last month, followed by his boss’ wife. Gradually, all but one of his five co-workers found themselves in bed. Miranda, who is from Chile, also started feeling stomach cramps. Soon, he was lying on the sofa, struggling to draw every breath.

“It’s only when the virus hits you that you take it much more seriously,” Miranda said this week from a hospital room overlooking Barcelona’s beachfront where he recovered after a week in intensive care, conscious but connected to a machine aiding his oxygen intake.

After a brief respite that brought medical activity back to pre-pandemic routines, managers at the Hospital del Mar in this northeastern city are facing a sharp surge in infections by, once again, rearranging staff shifts and moving patients around in their sprawling facilities.

The increase comes amid the advance of the Delta variant of the coronavirus that spreads more easily. And it’s being driven mostly by younger, unvaccinated patients who require less ICU care but are turning in droves to health centres and emergency wards. If they reach the point of needing hospitalisation, they typically spend longer in regular wards until they recover.