Alex Trelinski
THE Valencian Community is get a higher percentage of new COVID-19 vaccine shipments to make up for lower supplies compared to other Spanish regions.
Valencian Health Minister, Ana Barcelo, said extra shipments of the Moderna vaccine will be sent to the region in August and September to allow vaccination rates ‘to be accelerated’.
She has regularly complained that vaccine distribution has been weighted in favour of regions with older populations, especially earlier in the year.
In addition, some of the lower supplies for the Valencian Community were used for people staying in the area who have a second home and were not jabbed at their main area of residence.
Ana Barcelo said: “It was agreed among the regions and Health Minister, Carolina Darias, that areas like ours that got reduced supplies will now get extra doses.”
Barcelo gave no numerical indication over the rise in vaccines.
Neighbouring regions like Murcia are starting or about to start vaccinating the vulnerable 20 to 29 age group, which is a key factor in the big upturn in COVID cases.
The Valencian Community will not start immunising that group until the first week in August.
Another hitch across Spain appears to be in the supply of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which was seen as crucial to quickly protect younger people.
As of yesterday(July 14), Spain’s Health Ministry had only received 2.4 million doses of the Johnson vaccine out of an order of 17.5 million, which was scheduled to be fully delivered by the end of September.
5.5 Johnson million doses were meant to have arrived by the end of June, with a million doses yet to be used.
Spain has so far received nearly 36 million Pfizer doses, 10 million from AstraZeneca, and 5.2 million Moderna vaccines.
In April, Valencian president, Ximo Puig, claimed that two million Johnson & Johnson would be sent to his region ‘between now and September’ which would inoculate ‘40% of the population’.
READ MORE COVID RESTRICTIONS TO CONTINUE INTO AUGUST IN THE VALENCIAN COMMUNITY
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