ARCHIVED - Almost two thirds of Spanish population fully vaccinated against Covid

Three quarters of people in Spain have received at least one dose

The coronavirus immunization campaign continues to progress more rapidly in Spain than almost any other country in Europe, and although the fifth wave of contagion has resulted in the rollout slowing down a little as those returning positive tests are forced to wait for their jabs, the number of people to have received both vaccine doses has now reached 31,447,188.

This equates to 66.3 per cent of the total population, and with vaccines not authorized for children aged under 12 as many as 74.7 of the target population are fully protected – although pressure is growing on the government to authorize a “top-up” or booster third dose during the autumn.

Meanwhile, the number of people to have received at least one vaccine dose has climbed to 35.67 million, or 75.2 per cent of the population (and 84.7 per cent of the target population), and even among teenagers, youngest age group for whom the vaccines have been approved, the proportion has climbed to 59.1 per cent. However, with the start of the new school year just a couple of weeks away there are worries that the return to full classrooms could be associated with a sharp rise in case numbers as only 14.9 per cent of teenagers have received the second dose.

It is also among teenagers where the most significant differences in vaccination rates among Spain’s 17 regions can be seen. In the Balearics, for example, as many as 44.6 per cent of 12- to 19-year-olds have already been given their second jab, but in the Region of Murcia the equivalent figure is just 1.6 per cent. Gaps such as this will soon be closed, though, and with 67.8 per cent of Murcia teenagers having already received the first dose the number who are fully vaccinated will rise sharply as soon as their second jabs are due.

Image: @AsturSalud