Covid-19 vaccination appointment bookings now open to children 5 to 11

Covid-19 vaccination appointments for children between the ages of 5 to 11 can now be booked.

On Monday morning Catalonia received a total of 234,000 pediatric Pfizer doses which will begin to be administered on Wednesday amongst the age group that, alongside their parents and guardians, currently has one of the highest incidence rates.

5- to 11-year-olds will receive two shots eight weeks apart, although doses are a third of the amount given to people 12 and over.

This comes just under a week after Spain's public health committee approved the use of the vaccine for the age group following the European Medicines Agency's recommendation late last month.

Health officials continue to insist on the importance of vaccinating as many people as possible in the face of worsening pandemic indicators.

Despite rising case numbers, including breakthrough infections, public health secretary Carmen Cabezas noted just how key vaccines were in bringing down the chances of requiring hospitalization. "Vaccines work," she stressed.

In November, 9.5 of every 100,000 unvaccinated inhabitants aged 12 or more in Catalonia spent time in ICUs last month – a figure that dropped to 2.3 among the vaccinated.

As of December 12, 2021, 6,112,304 residents have been given the first dose of the vaccine, 77.2% of the total population. Out of those, 5,329,172 have also been administered a second dose (67.4% of the total population). 5,997,240 residents are considered to be fully immunized (75.5%). 

1,042,339 booster shots have been given to over 60s, immunocompromised people, care home residents, and anyone who received the Janssen vaccine.