Vaccinations in Catalonia could be advanced to Dec 27-29 following EU plan

European Commission pledges EU-wide vaccination program for late December

A Covid-19 vaccine (by REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/File Photo)
A Covid-19 vaccine (by REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/File Photo) / ACN

ACN | Barcelona

December 17, 2020 01:00 PM

The start of Covid-19 vaccinations in Catalonia could be advanced to December 27-29 as the European Commission announced an EU-wide plan to begin inoculating people against the virus before the end of the year.

While Catalan and Spanish authorities had pledged to offer the first vaccinations in January, the European Union announced on Thursday that all member states would begin doing so on 27, 28, and 29 of December.

Approval for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine is still pending from the European Medicines Agency, which is expected to evaluate the vaccine on December 21 and could give the green light two days later.

Most Spaniards would not allow the Covid-19 vaccine be administered immediately after it becomes available, according to a survey by Spain's public opinion institute CIS.

Early in December, the Spanish government unveiled a plan to vaccinate up to 20 million people, that is, 42% of Spaniards, by June 2021.

Catalan authorities pledged 900,000 Covid-19 vaccine doses for the first quarter of 2021, prioritizing those most vulnerable to the coronavirus, like people who reside at nursing homes, elders older than 80 years, or healthcare workers.

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