Date Published: 15/06/2021
ARCHIVED - Spanish regions tussle with practicalities of vaccinating holidaymakers
ARCHIVED ARTICLE While Valencia is already vaccinating those spending at least a month in the region and Andalusia and Murcia wish to do the same, other regions are not convinced.
One of the topics on the agenda for the latest meeting of the Interterritorial Health Committee due to be held on the afternoon of Tuesday (15 June) is that of administering Covid vaccines to patients who live in one part of Spain but are holidaying in another.
While Valencia, Andalusia and Murcia, where there are a lot of second homes, are all for the idea, others think it would involve more hassle than benefits and are therefore voting against it.
The Basque Country, Navarra and Aragón, for example, see no reason to complicate matters, while the authorities in the Canary Islands have pointed out that holidaymakers rarely stay there for more than a week or two, so would be unable to receive both doses of the vaccine while there anyway. In any case, they said, those who can stay for longer are generally pensioners who have already had their vaccinations.
Specific details of a possible system have yet to be released and would require careful planning to ensure that vaccine distribution accounts for the so-called ‘displaced residents’.
The health authorities in Valencia have asked for compensation for more than 99,000 doses of vaccine they say they have already administered to patients who are staying in the region for at least a month.
Andalusia and Murcia are also eager for a nationwide protocol to allow them to vaccinate citizens spending the summer there, hoping that it would attract more national tourists, but have stressed that distribution would need to be adjusted to account for this.
However, the Basque Country is firmly against the idea, claiming that it would require a very complex process, and the regional authorities have recommended that its residents work out when their vaccinations are due before booking their holidays. Those who don’t turn up for their appointments won’t be refused vaccines later on, but they will have to wait until there are doses available, they warned.
Cantabria and Navarra have similar opinions and have announced that they think people should be vaccinated where they live, apart from a few exceptions.
The tourism sector nationwide is keen to see the scheme implemented to encourage more national tourism, given the inevitability of the reduced levels of international tourism this summer due to the covid pandemic; Spanish tourism authorities are concentrating their efforts into the domestic market this summer.
Their theory is that allowing family members to complete their vaccination course in another region will encourage more families to go away; if they are unable to do so and must stay in their home city for a second vaccine, they are less likely to travel this summer.