Lydia Spencer-Elliott
CROSS-border workers in Gibraltar will be the first Spanish people to receive the coronavirus vaccine.
Approximately 270 Spaniards will be given the Pfizer jab on The Rock in the coming days, as it has been approved by the UK.
Gibraltar officials announced last week that the British territory will receive 35,000 doses of the COVID vaccine, with plans to immunise over 80s and carehome workers first.
Some of these vital doses will be given to the 9,200 Spanish cross-border workers, particularly those who work with vulnerable people.
In fact, many will receive the vaccination before those who actually live in Gibraltar in a bid to stop spread from outsiders on The Rock.
It comes after Spain’s health minister, Salvador Illa, defended the hesitation to approve the jab in Spain.
“In Europe, the regulatory framework to carry out a vaccine is very demanding,” he said.
“This is very serious and it involves the public health,” he affirmed.
The politician also lashed out at the vaccine developer: “It bothered me that the CEO of Pfizer sold the stock right after announcing the vaccine,” he told Cadena Ser.
“Is it legal? Yes, but it is not the correct thing. It doesn’t fit the ethics of the person who is in charge of this,” he critiqued.
According to the health minister, the majority of people in Spain will have received a coronavirus vaccine by July 2021, with a strategy rolling out from as early as January.
