Covid: Spain’s vaccination rollout success

Country meets 10m people immunisation target

SPAIN’S vaccination rollout continues at pace with regional health authorities aiming to immunise younger population seen as key to spreading Covid-19 virus.

Health authorities across the country – excluding Madrid – looking to give 40 to 49-year-olds coronavirus vaccinations.

The 14-day cumulative number of infections stands at 115 per 100,000 people and health authorities rushing to immunise younger people; they are at lower risk of developing a serious illness due to the virus or dying, but play a central role in transmission of disease because of increased social activity.

People in their forties are now being targeted in the drive using Pfizer, Moderna or the one-dose Janssen vaccines, depending on the availability in a particular area. The Spanish capital is lagging behind and will not start on this demographic until mid-June.

The vaccination drive is gathering pace. Last week 5.1 million doses arrived in Spain, the largest shipment since the campaign began in December and 3.1 million shots are already in arms. It means central government met its second target of having 10m people fully vaccinated by the first week of June.

Since the start of the vaccine rollout more than 30 million jabs have been administered and about 42% of the population has received at least one dose.

Fernando Simón, the director of the Health Ministry’s Coordination Centre for Health Alerts, said: “The vaccination drive is having a very important impact on the transmission of this disease.

“The incidence rate is not excessively low, but in some groups, it has fallen a lot – the incidence in the over-60s has fallen far below the rate recorded in younger groups.”