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(Adds background, vaccine decision)
MADRID, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Madrid health authorities on
Friday confirmed the region's first case of the Brazilian
COVID-19 variant, while a national committee was debating
whether to recommend AstraZeneca's vaccine to people
over 65.
The national health ministry said it was not aware of any
other cases of the highly contagious Brazilian variant in
Spanish territory.
Catalan authorities announced the country's second known
case of the South African variant on Wednesday, a day after the
government restricted air travel with Brazil and South Africa to
curb the spread of the virulent new strains from those
countries.
Officials have warned that although a third wave of
infection has slowed, with the 14-day incidence rate falling to
751 cases per 100,000 people on Friday from 900 cases in late
January, the arrival of the new strains could drive a
resurgence.
The health ministry recorded 28,565 new cases on Friday,
bringing the total above 2.94 million, while the death toll
climbed by 584 to 61,386.
Meanwhile a national vaccine committee was expected to
announce that Spain would follow France and Germany in
restricting the AstraZeneca vaccine to younger people amid a
lack of data on its use in the elderly.
Nearly three quarters of Spaniards are willing to receive a
shot as soon as one became available, according to a recent poll
by the Centre for Sociological Studies (CIS) but some remain
wary.
"At the moment I will not get one. I will wait a bit," said
80-year old retired lawyer Livigno, out walking in central
Madrid. "You hear positive and negative comments and it's very
confusing. I am not even sure the government is clear."
(Reporting by Nathan Allen and Graham Keeley
Editing by Ingrid Melander, Kirsten Donovan)
