ARCHIVED - Spain donates 750,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine to Latin America

Only 2.46 per cent of the population of Nicaragua are fully vaccinated as opposed to 55 per cent in Spain

It has been announced this week that Spain has made its first donation of coronavirus vaccines to South American countries, shipping 750,000 doses of the AstraZeneca product to Ecuador, Paraguay, Nicaragua, Guatemala and Peru and thus redistributing the country’s allocation of the batches ordered by the EU.

The donation has come about as a result of the announcement last week that Spain no longer requires further vials of the Astra Zeneca vaccine, due to the immunization program having been completed in the only age group for which the product is approved in this country (those aged 60 to 69). At the same time, this shipment represents the start of an effort to fulfil the promise made in April by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, who pledged that at least 7.5 million vaccine doses would be redistributed to Latin America and the Caribbean.

The first stage of the donation will result in 252,000 doses being sent to Paraguay, 201,600 to Guatemala, 101,760 to each of Ecuador and Peru and 97,920 to Nicaragua.

Worries over blood clots may have limited the use of Astra Zeneca in Spain and other European countries, but in other parts of the world the arrival of more vaccines is still a vital necessity. In Nicaragua, for example, only 2.46 per cent of the population have been fully vaccinated while 3.82 per cent have received at least one dose: by way of comparison, the equivalent figures in Spain are 55.1 per cent and 65.3 per cent.

In addition, the Astra Zeneca vaccine is relatively easy to transport, as it can be stored at between 2 and 8 degrees (the Pfizer vaccine must be stored at around -70ºC).

Unfortunately, though, the 200,000 AstraZeneca doses which were returned by the regional government of Madrid to the Ministry of Health cannot be sent to Latin America as Covax rules do not permit the donation of vaccines which have already been distributed.

Image: @AsturSalud