Spain Green Light For Winter Booster Shot As Infections Fall

The latest Covid-19 infection figures from the Spanish Ministry of Health show a continuing fall in the incidence rate over the previous 14 days, to just over 52 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.

There remain wide regional variations but the trend is clearly downward and the 7 day incidence rate lower still at just 21 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.

Just 385 cases were registered in the previous 24 hours compared to a peak on 21st January of 18,504 cases registered on the previous day. 

The Madrid regions rate of 55 per 100,000 of population over 14 days and 23 over 7 days, compares favourably with most other regions on the peninsula.

Many of Madrid´s capacity restrictions were lifted on Monday 4th October, with the hope that it represents “one step away” from pre-pandemic life.”

The Spanish Public Health Commission, approved yesterday, 5th October, the winter booster campaign for the over 70s to begin at the end of the month in order to “increase the protection to vulnerable groups in the population.”

The commission coordinates the central government´s Covid-19 response with those of the country´s 17 autonomous regions.

The booster shots will be administered to those who finished their initial vaccinations at least 6 months previously.

Spain has far surpassed its 70% target  set by the government at the beginning of the vaccination rollout.

To date just over 70 million vaccine doses have been administered and some 36,745,965 people are now immune, which represents 77.4% of the total population of the country.

Some 5 million people have tested positive for the coronavirus since March 2020, of whom just over 86,000 have died from the disease.

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