COVID-19

SPAIN has successfully responded to the threat of a fourth wave of infection but people must not drop their guard. Fernando Simón, director of the government’s coordination centre for health alerts has said the rate of infections was slowing – an important change in the fortnight after the Easter break and the traditional movement and social activity over the national holidays. It was feared the vacation would trigger a new […]

SPAIN hopes to have its home-manufactured Covid-19 vaccine in arms before the end of the year, said Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. The premier was visiting pharmaceutical company Hipra in Amer, in the Catalan province of Girona, when he said the jab one of Europe’s most promising ways of ending the coronavirus pandemic. He underlined the vaccination programme as “the big hope” in the battle against the disease which has swept […]

SPAIN’S health ministry is considering a change to the Covid-19 vaccination programme and delaying second shots to people aged under 80. Those given the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines may wait up to eight weeks for the second jab allowing the government to speed up immunisation to offer more people a level of protection. Described as a radical change and mirroring policy in the UK and Israel, the public health commission […]

THE coronavirus strain first identified in Britain is now responsible for 80% of infections across Spain and is more contagious, according to health experts. The variant was said to be at the root of the fourth wave of Covid-19 and dominant across the country but to date has not overwhelmed the Spanish health system despite fears it was more lethal – as experienced in other European countries. Scientists say more […]

THE fourth wave of the Covid-19 pandemic is taking hold across most of Spain as nearly 10,500 new cases and a further 131 death were reported on Wednesday. The 14-day cumulative number of coronavirus cases has risen to 201 per 100,000 across the country – yet rates continue to fall in Valencia, Murcia, Galicia, the Balearic Islands, and the Canary Islands, where the epidemic remains under stricter control. Health minister […]

EASYJET chief Johan Lundgren expects popular destinations across Europe to be on the British government’s ‘green’ list when foreign travel takes off next month. Flying off on holiday is scheduled to begin on from May 17 and will be subject to a traffic light system dependent on the risk of Covid-19 under government proposals. Some experts predict low risk destinations could be limited to the likes of Iceland, Malta and […]

THE acceleration of the Covid-19 vaccination programme across Spain may be hit by American health regulators putting the single-shot Janssen vaccine on hold for safety checks. Pharmaceutical company Johnson and Johnson suspended its rollout while six cases of rare blood clots are investigated after seven million people received the jab in the United States. The decision has a knock-on effect for Spain which was scheduled to start using the Janssen […]

Strain sweeps across Valencia and Spain MINISTRY of health data shows almost 95% of new coronavirus infections in Valencia are the so-called British variant of Covid-19. First identified in Kent last year, the mutation appears to have wiped out the initial strain of the virus say scientists. Seven days ago, statistics revealed the incidence of the strain was eight of every 10 infections – a month ago it was just […]

SPAIN’S state of alarm ends on May 9 but scientists believe restrictions will still be needed to protect the public this summer. For six months the emergency measure has allowed the regional governments powers to introduce health restrictions to control the Covid-19 pandemic – such as night curfews, perimeter lockdowns, and social gathering limits – without being challenged through the courts. However, experts expect limits on social activity will continue […]