Covid: Spain 100 days from herd immunity. Premier expects 70% of adults receive vaccine by august

SPANISH prime minister Pedro Sánchez says the country’s vaccination programme is on track to achieve herd immunity this summer.

The target is to have 70% of all adults vaccinated by August 18. To date Spain has administered 19 million shots and 28% of the population has received at least one dose; 12.6% have had the two shots.

Speaking during an official visit to Greece, the premier was revealing a target date for the first time, previously the government has spoken of ‘late summer’ for the goal.

“We are just 100 days away from achieving group immunity; that is, getting 70% of the Spanish population vaccinated and, thus, immunised,” he said.
Spain’s vaccination campaign has had to deal with a series of problems: there were shipment delays and the use of some vaccines was delayed because of investigations into causing blood clots.

However, Sánchez was bullish about the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. “We are starting to overcome this calamity.”

And he said the drive to immunise people was now stepping up a gear. “The figures are an invitation for optimism,” he said.