Elderly residents and staff in nursing homes will be the first to get vaccinated against the coronavirus in Spain, Health Minister Salvador Illa said on Tuesday, unveiling a national vaccination plan due to begin in January, Trend reports citing Reuters.
Other healthcare workers will be next to be vaccinated, Illa said, with a total of 18 groups of citizens being, one after the other, allowed to get the vaccine in one of Spain’s 13,000 local public health centers.
Spain expects to cover a substantial part of the population within the first six months of 2021. Vaccination will not be compulsory and will be free of charge, Illa said.
The objective is “to be ready as a country to vaccinate from the moment we start receiving doses”, he told a news conference.
The government hopes to get the first doses in January, he said, but availability will be limited for the first few months.