Advertisement

UPDATE: Spain imposes six month vaccine delay on those who've had Covid

The Local Spain
The Local Spain - [email protected]
UPDATE: Spain imposes six month vaccine delay on those who've had Covid
Photo: AFP

Spain’s health ministry have announced that those aged under 55 who have no underlying health conditions but have tested positive for Covid will have to wait six months before receiving a vaccine.

Advertisement

The ministry explained the decision by insisting that cases of reinfection within six months were so rare as to be “exceptional”.

But people older than 55 or those with health conditions that make coronavirus more dangerous will be exempt from the delay and will receive the vaccine according to the group they fall into under Spain’s vaccination strategy.

In the first phase of the vaccination plan, jabs were reserved for residents in care homes, those that care for them and healthcare workers on the coronavirus frontline.

Advertisement

With the arrival of AstraZeneca vaccines which are only approved for the under 55s in Spain, it has now been widened to include other key workers, including teachers, law enforcement officers, firefighters and members of the armed forces.

It will also be administered to those healthcare professionals not working directly on the frontline, such as pharmacists, physiotherapists, home assistance carers.

But supermarket employees do not appear on the priority list even though they were classified as essential workers during Spain’s strict lockdown which began last March.

Once Spain has reached its target of immunizing at least 80 percent of over 80-year-olds with vaccines produced by Pfizer and Moderna – a target it is on schedule to meet by the end of March – then it will move to vaccinating those over 70.

READ MORE: 

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also