Spain prepares vaccination plan against covid-19 2:44
(CNN) -
The Minister of Health of Spain, Salvador Illa, announced on Tuesday his country's plan to implement vaccines against covid-19.
Spain expects to receive its first doses of the coronavirus vaccine in January 2021, Illa said.
During a press conference, Illa presented her government's plan that will prioritize the most vulnerable.
Nursing home residents and staff will be first, followed by the disabled and general healthcare workers.
"In this first group, we are talking about 2.5 million people," Illa told reporters.
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Spain will apply vaccines against the coronavirus in three stages
Spain's strategy aims to vaccinate a significant part of the population in the first six months of 2021, and the plan is expected to be completed in three stages.
The first will start in January through March with a limited number of doses available, followed by a second stage from March to June, when authorities expect to increase the number of vaccines with a final stage from June, which is expected to cover a broader segment of the population.
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The Health Minister also said he was confident that his government's plan will be able to provide vaccines for the entire country.
"According to the agreements we have signed, we estimate that Spain will receive 140 million doses to immunize approximately 80 million people, obviously this (number) is higher than the population of our country," he said.
The vaccine will not be mandatory and will be available for free, Illa added.
- With information from Ammy Cassidy of CNN in Glasgow and Claudia Rebaza of CNN in London.
Coronavirus Vaccine