Spain will follow the UK and begin to administer the corona virus vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech on December 27, this was announced by the Health Minister Salvador Illa Friday the 18th of December. The top priority groups will be first across all of on Spain’s regions.
All the regions will receive the vaccine by boxing day and Sunday the 27th. Each region will get the doses allocated to them equitably so the process can start. The doses will arrive on a weekly basis and it is not yet known exactly how many.
Spain’s immunisations were set to begin on January the 4th 2021 however, the European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen announced last Thursday they could begin earlier. The vaccine will be distributed to 50 location points yet to be revealed. The safe delivery will be overseen by the Interior Ministry where they will put security in place.
Residents and staff in care homes, healthcare workers, and those with serious disabilities will be the first priority group beginning at the same time in each of Spain´s regions. The doses will be administered according to how many top priority individuals are in each region, not by population.
The pharmaceutical company will do the distribution and from there on the logistics of the ultra cold storage (now resolved) will be down to the state authorities.
How it works
Each individual will be given 2 doses, with the 2nd 21 days later, however even the first will offer some protection. The majority of Spain’s regions have prepared the specialised cold freezer storage units as the Pfizer vaccine must be stored at -75º. Health workers are being trained at every region’s primary health centres and in some cases the elderly will be vaccinated at home.
The Health Ministry is hopeful that the first drive will be completed by March, the next drive will be in the April to June period and the final phase between July and September. The Health Minister has stated that there are 15 groups in total but is yet to announce which stages the last 2 phases will go. He estimated that out of our 47 million population 60% will be immunised by August. There will be ongoing clinical trials of all the vaccines purchased by the European Commission.
So, a positive start to 2021, let´s hope it is a good year for all.