Cristina Hodgson
THE province of Malaga will receive some 37,000 doses of the coronavirus vaccine in the first round of vaccinations.
The first batches of the vaccine against COVID-19 are expected to arrive in Spain on boxing day, with the vaccinations to start between Sunday 27 and Monday 28.
In the first phase, some 190,000 doses will arrive in Andalucia. Of these, according to population criteria, some 37,000 correspond to Malaga.
As the immunisation requires a second dose 21 days after the first, only 18,500 people will be vaccinated in Malaga in this first round.
The ministry of health has identified two priority groups to receive the vaccine first; residents in old peoples homes and the corresponding health care personnel working in these homes.
Because many of the residents in old peoples homes suffer from dementia or have intellectual disabilities, legal guardians have been contacted to ask for the corresponding permission to receive the voluntary vaccination.
According to a director of one on the nursing homes, the legals guardians have been contacted ‘via SMS and Whatsapp to speed up the authorisation,’
The Minister of the Presidency, Elias Bendodo, has informed that the vaccine will be applied in 49 health centres and 37 hospitals throughout Andalucia.
The Junta has informed that the professionals responsible for administering the doses have been trained on a course organised by the Andalucian Strategic Plan for Vaccines, which is part of the Directorate General for Public Health and Pharmaceutical Planning, in collaboration with the Andalucian School of Public Health (EASP).
The training programme has provided professionals with information on the immunisation strategy, including the prioritisation of population groups, given that the availability of vaccines will be progressive.
The first available doses will arrive in multi-dose vials and under special storage conditions. Exactly, at 80 degrees below zero, so knowledge of their management is essential.
