Staff Reporter
PLANS have been announced for a mass public anti-COVID vaccination campaign at Valencia’s City of Arts and Sciences complex starting in April.
More specifically, the Principe Felipe museum – usually housing Fallas exhibitions – will see thousands of residents receiving their jabs.
The building has been chosen as it meets all the criteria recommended by health experts: a large space, covered, well ventilated and with separate entrance and exit points.
Spokespeople for the regional Health department point out that there are still many logistical aspects to be sorted out, such as personnel and free transport to and from the complex.
However, by far the most important requirement to launch the scheme according to schedule is to receive enough doses of the vaccine on time.
In fact, the whole programme will be organised according to the doses available.
Jabs are currently only programmed mid-week, but inoculations could also be carried out on Saturdays and Sundays if a large shipment of vials is suddenly received.
However, the Generalitat has dampened expectations slightly by explaining that, according to current calculations, Valencia will not see thousands of people queuing up outside the vaccination centres like in other countries.
Sources for the Health department predict that the campaign will be ‘relatively massive’ mainly due to the fact that the jabs will be made available to the general public, and not because huge crowds will be inoculated at the same time.
Identical public vaccination points will be set up in Castellon’s Palacio de Congresos, Alicante’s Ciudad de la Luz, and at the IFA events hall in Elche, plus at existing campaign hospitals in the three provincial capitals.
The regional authorities are also searching for additional venues in each district capital, with plans to offer the service in major towns such as Denia, Villajoyosa, Xativa, Gandia and Orihuela, among others.
Sources close to the Valencian Health department add that they are currently studying the possibility of distributing the vaccination centres according to population figures, meaning that some of the larger district capitals could have two instead of one.
The latest figures show that more than 275,600 doses have been administered in the Valencian Community since the beginning of the vaccination campaign on December 27.
Nearly 100,000 people have already received both jabs and now have total immunity against the virus – which accounts for nearly 2% of the population.
The next stage of the vaccination will focus on teachers and school staff, with an estimated 100,000 professionals set to be inoculated over the next few weeks.
