Spain has picked up the pace of its vaccination rollout with approximately 170,000 doses administered on a daily basis currently.
The aim, according to Daniel López-Acuña, a former director of emergencies at the World Health Organization (WHO), is to hit 300,000 doses a day.
With 1.9 million doses currently stored (partly because of the break in vaccinating with AstraZeneca) and five million more doses due to arrive from Moderna and Pfizer in April, getting to this target quicker, may just be possible.
This would potentially allow Spain to edge closer to its target of 70 percent immunity among its 47 million inhabitants by the end of the summer.
By the middle of April, Spain will also begin to see the first Janssen (which only requires one dose) vaccines arrive, as 300,000 are expected. This will be followed by another 1.3 million doses in May and a further 3.9 million doses in June. This means that around 5.5 million people will be vaccinated in the third quarter, with just Janssen alone.
As of March 24th 2021, Spain had administered 6.8 million doses of the vaccine, with Andalusia leading the way, followed by Catalonia and then the Community of Madrid.
However, only around 3.6 percent of the population has received two doses of the vaccine, so the country still has a long way to go.
Large regional differences in the speed and efficiency of vaccine rollouts mean that setting an exact date for when all demographic groups – whether based on age, health or work – isn’t something Madrid nor any of the autonomous communities have so far dared to do.
The Spanish government’s focus so far is on inoculating priority groups, which in terms of age only go as far as 45 years of age, meaning that for people under that age who don’t fall into priority groups providing a timeframe for inoculation is even harder.
Spain has also been trying to decide whether the vaccination order should be based on groups or age, with the latest news suggesting that Pedro Sánchez’s government has opted for the latter with the exception of people with pre-existing conditions.
Furthermore, there’s the fact that the distribution of Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca doses will be determined by the group into which one falls into.
Although getting an exact idea of when you will receive the Covid-19 vaccine is difficult at this time, most of Spain’s regions have now vaccinated their over 80s and are currently vaccinating those ages 70-79 (end of March/beginning of April). This will be followed by 60-69 and then those under 60 with previous health conditions. Looking at the list below will give you some idea of how far along the vaccination campaign is.
Pfizer and Moderna vaccines
Both Pfizer’s and Moderna’s vaccines are reserved for the following groups, in order of priority:
1) Group 1: care home residents and workers.
2) Group 2: primary care health professionals and social care workers.
3 Group 3A: other health and social workers who, although not on the front line, have a high level of potential exposure to Covid-19 ie primary care, dentistry and dental hygiene, basically any healthcare professional who treats patients who aren’t wearing a mask for more than 15 minutes.
4) Group 4: people with a high degree of dependency over 55 years of age.
5) Group 5A: people aged 80 or over.
6) Group 5B: people between the ages of 70 and 79.
7) Group 5C: people between the ages of 60 and 69.
8) Group 7: people under 60 years of age with preexisting health conditions that pose a high risk if infected with Covid-19.
9) Group 3B (over 55s): Workers involved in the management and response to the pandemic; health and social health personnel who have not previously been vaccinated; physiotherapists, occupational therapists, pharmacy workers, dental prosthetics workers; prison staff.
10) Group 3C (over 55s): The rest of the health and social health workers have not previously been vaccinated.
11) Group 6A (over 55s): Security Forces, Emergencies, and Armed Forces personnel.
12) Group 6B (over 55s): teachers and staff at educational institutions for children under the age of six as well as at special education facilities.
13) Group 6C (over 55s): teachers and staff of primary and secondary education facilities.
14) Group 8: people aged 56 to 59 years of age.
We’ve listed the priority groups in the order provided by Spanish government for reference’s sake, but the country’s Health Ministry has said that “for organisational and feasibility reasons” the vaccination of groups 3A, 4 and 5A, 7, 3B, 3C, 6A, 6B and 6C may overlap.
That means that although your category may fall further down the list, you may be called up sooner than you think to get your vaccine.
AstraZeneca vaccines
Spain’s health ministry announced on March 30th that it was extending the roll-out of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine to the over-65s, after recent scientific reassurances about its safety.
The distribution of the AstraZeneca vaccine will be done in this order:
1) Group 3B: Referring back to different health personnel mentioned above in this category, the rest of these workers will receive the AstraZeneca vaccine.
2) Group 3C: rest of health and social health personnel who have not previously been vaccinated.
3) Group 6: active groups with an essential function for society. They are divided into three subgroups:
4) Group 6A: Other Security Forces, Emergencies and Armed Forces personnel who have not received the Pfizer or Moderna Vaccine.
5) 6B: Other teachers and staff at educational institutions for children under the age of six as well as those at special education facilities.
6) Group 6C: other teachers and staff of primary and secondary education facilities.
7) Group 9: people between the ages of 45 and 65.
Janssen vaccine
The single-dose Janssen vaccines will be given first to the oldest age groups, the population group between 66 and 79 years old that will not be able to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine.
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