Vaccine rollout in Catalonia passes 1% of population as first Moderna doses arrive

The vaccine rollout in Catalonia reached 1% of the whole population on Tuesday, when over 15,000 more people were given a dose to reach 91,382 residents (1.18%).

After a slow start, around 67,000 people were given the Pfizer vaccine in the past six days, above the aim of 60,000 per week, given that this is the number of doses Catalonia receives every Monday.

The public health secretary, Josep Maria Argimon, said on Wednesday that so far 180,000 doses have been delivered, of which 136,000 are distributed and 91,000 administered.

He also said that the first 5,800 doses of the Moderna vaccine arrived on Tuesday evening – around 8,000 more will be shipped within two weeks and around 94,000 more "probably throughout February."

The health department expects to vaccinate 748,000 in the first stage of the rollout that is expected to last until March – care home residents, workers, and general healthcare professionals are included in this phase.

Argimon said that by the end of this week, the administration of the first vaccine will end in care homes, and that next Monday, the second round will begin to those who were given the jab three weeks ago, starting with Feixa Llarga care home, in l'Hospitalet de Llobregat.

Incident in care home

The official also explained that some workers in an elderly care home in the Ebre river region have been suspended from work and an investigation on them has been launched after they reportedly offered doses not only to residents, but also "invited" relatives to receive one. He qualified the incident as "very serious."

The health department says that the rate of those who reject being inoculated is "very low," with less than 1% among health professionals and between 7% and 8% among care home workers.