Spain has concluded plans to offer a fourth dose of a Covid-19 vaccine to its entire citizens before the end of the year, Health Minister Carolina Darias has confirmed.
Africa Daily News, New York reports that just like many other countries in the world, Spain currently offers a fourth shot to older adults and those with compromised immune systems, however, they have now resolved to extend it to everyone.
‘There will be a fourth dose for the whole population,’ Darias said during an interview with private television channel La Sexta.
The timing for the commencement of the vaccination campaign for the fourth dose has not yet been decided but it will likely be in the last few months of the year when new vaccines — which are adapted to fight new Covid-19 variants — are expected to be available, she added.
Africa Daily News, New York reports that Spain, a nation of about 47 million people, has to date fully vaccinated 93 percent of its population over the age of 12, one of the highest immunisation rates in the world.
The country has registered 12.5 million Covid-19 infections and 107,239 deaths since the start of the pandemic in March 2020.
Spain in March 2022 began treating Covid-19 more like an endemic illness — a regularly occurring milder disease like the flu — and moved away from the detailed tracking system that was applied when the pandemic broke.
In a related development, the United States last week announced that Covid-19 tests are no longer compulsory for international travelers arriving by air, a major step in the country’s gradual lifting of pandemic restrictions.
White House Assistant Press Secretary Kevin Munoz confirmed the news on Twitter, with US media reporting that the testing requirement would end this weekend after strong lobbying from the travel industry.
Africa Daily News, New York recalls that before now, all passengers had needed to show a negative Covid viral test taken shortly before travel — or proof of having recovered from the virus in the past 90 days — before they boarded their flight.
