Spain’s Vaccine Rollout To Start On Boxing Day

The Spanish Minister Of Health, Salvador Illa has announced that the country will  begin it’s vaccine roll out programme on December 26th.

The vaccine doses are being delivered to around 50 strategic points throughout Spain before being sent to all 17 of Spain’s autonomous communities.

The minister said “the doses will reach all the regions on Saturday the 26th or Sunday the 27th, in coordination with Europe, which will distribute them on the 26th,” and that  “all regions will receive the amount allotted to them equitably so they can begin their vaccination process.”

The government’s initial order is 20 million doses but it is unclear how many will be in the first phase of the rollout, saying,that Spain will ” receive a significant amount, but we still don’t know how many. We will receive doses on a weekly basis.”

The vaccine programme is being coordinated by the European Union for all member states and the approval process speeded up to allow for the earliest possible distribution.

The vaccine is set to be approved by the European Medicines Agency on December 21st.

The minister underlined that the immunization programme will prioritise vulnerable sections of the population including the elderly and front line health workers.

Up to 2.5 million people are expected to have received the vaccine by the end of January.

The Prime Minister Pedro Sancehz had earlier said that up to 60 % of the population will have been covered by the end of the summer.

To date Spain has recorded over 1.7 million cases and 47,000 deaths from the coronavirus.