ARCHIVED - Covid vaccination programme in Murcia continues; 24,000 over 80s have now been vaccinated outside of carehomes

6.5 per cent of the population of Murcia have already received at least one vaccine dose as the region works down through the population by age

Images: Staff from the Area III health area of the Murcia Region out and about vaccinating the over 80s this week.

As the coronavirus immunization program continues to gather momentum gradually throughout Spain, the health authorities in the Region of Murcia are on course to begin administering vaccines to the 70-79 age group in April, according to regional government Covid spokesman Jaime Pérez.

This next step has been made feasible by the expected increase in deliveries of the vaccine from pharmaceutical companies in the coming weeks, as outlined by the national Minister for Health, Carolina Darias. Sra Darias stated on Monday that Spain will be receiving 4.8 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine in April, enabling the second dose to be administered to most of the over-80s in this country before beginning on the next age group.

So far in Murcia approximately 24,000 people in the over-80 age group and not living in residences have received their first doses, and another 9,846 are scheduled to do so this week at 57 of the 85 health centres in the Region. This use of the Pfizer vaccine is running alongside the introduction of AstraZeneca vaccines for schoolteachers and the forces of law and order, which are being administered at the major centres set up for the purpose in Murcia Cartagena, Lorca, Cieza, Caravaca de la Cruz and Yecla.

The latest data show that to date in the Region of Murcia 147,188 vaccine doses have been administered, including over 51,000 patients who have received both doses. This means that a total of just over 95,000 people in Murcia have received at least one jab, equating to 6.5 per cent (or a little under one in 15) of the population.

Of course, foreign residents are only interested in when they will receive their vaccines, but this is also proving to be a contentious topic as foreign nationals are not included in any of the pre-determined groups for vaccination and the regional governments are being left to determine how they will handle the situation in their own regions.

The Andalusian authorities put the cat among the pigeons last week by announcing that the region will not be vaccinating anybody who isn’t registered with the Andalusian Health System (SAS) and proclaiming that those affected would either have to return to their countries of origin for vaccination or contact their consulates to regularise their situation.

Other regions appear to be more understanding, however, with the authorities in Murcia and Valencia both quickly pointing out that they’re working on plans to ensure that the entire population is vaccinated.

At the moment, access to coronavirus vaccines appears to depend on having a Regional Health Identification Code (CIAS) number rather than being registered on the ‘padrón’ (town hall residents register). Those with a ‘health card’ who are fully registered with the health system should have no problem receiving their vaccination and will be contacted by the health services once it’s their turn (by age group),and the regional health authority is studying how to make sure that those who don’t have cards get their injections too, as the goal is to ensure that everyone is included.

Foreign residents in the Valencian region look likely to be able to expect something similar, as the regional president, Ximo Puig, has said that British expats (and people from other countries) will all get their vaccines regardless of whether they are registered with the regional health system or not.

The principal problem for British nationals lies with those who technically shouldn´t even be here; those who have failed to register their residency in Spain before Brexit even though they live here full-time and are not "in the system". There are also many British nationals here who have applied for residency but are not yet "in the system" and of course, there are early retirees who are paying for private health insurance and are not entitled to a vaccine through these schemes.

Given the current supply of vaccines, it's unlikely that those in the 60+ age group will be vaccinated before May/June; as the regional authorities stated above 70-79s are the next group and the aim is to reach them in April.