56.3% of internationals in Catalonia fully vaccinated against Covid, 18 points below average

56.3% of internationals residing in Catalonia are now fully vaccinated against Covid-19, a significantly lower rate than the average. 

According to figures obtained by Catalan News after a freedom of information request through the Catalan transparency law procedure, 709,838 out of the 1,260,619 migrants registered in the 'padró' census were inoculated as of November 4, 56.3%, which is 18 points below the Catalan average (74.4%) and 23 points below the average of Spanish citizenship holders (79.3%). 

Looking at the 50 nationalities with most residents in Catalonia, those coming from South and Central America are top of the rankings – countries of this region account for 11 of the 13 highest rates – while Eastern Europeans are towards the bottom, with seven out of the nine countries with lowest vaccination rates. 

The figures given by the Catalan health department show that Argentinians (81.7%), Hondurans (77.9%), Filipinos (76.4%), Venezuelans (75.9%) and Nicaraguans (75.6%) are the top five, while Armenians (37.7%), Algerians (37.6%), Bulgarians (37.3%), Georgians (33.8%) and Russians (32.8%) are the bottom five. 

The two nationalities with biggest international communities in Catalonia, Morocco (46.2%) and Romania (42.1%), are still far from having a majority of residents immunized. Italians (58.6%), Chinese (60.7%) and Pakistanis (60.4%), the third, fourth and fifth biggest international communities in Catalonia, are slightly above average. 

Some vaccination patterns of migrants are similar to their compatriots who have not emigrated, with Eastern European nationalities below the rates seen in Western European residents in Catalonia. Asian and African migrants also show different behaviors depending on nationality. 

See the table below for a full breakdown of vaccinations per country of origin:

The different trends can be also observed with this map showing the different vaccination rates according to nationality of residents in Catalonia.   

20 to 29-year-olds see lowest rates

By age, the trends are similar to that of the average, but with lower figures. Those internationals aged 20 to 29 have the lowest rate (50.4%), a 24 percentage point drop compared to the overall population born between 1992 and 2001. 

The age group 30 to 39 is the largest among foreigners – 61% of them have been inoculated, a much lower rate than those between 50 to 59, who, at 80.3%, have the highest percentage, except for the population aged 90 or over.

Barcelona city and county just above average

Looking into the figures per counties, no major differences or trends can be observed. Alta Ribagorça (66%), Garrotxa (61%), Baix Ebre (59%) and Barcelonès (58%) are those topping the rankings, while Val d'Aran (50%), Terra Alta (50,1%), Solsonès (49,7%), Berguedà (49,5%) and La Selva (48,3%) are bottom of the list. 

By municipality, taking into account only those with 10,000 inhabitants and over, La Roca del Vallès (78%), Corbera de Llobregat (67%), and Amposta (66%) are leading the vaccine rollout of their foreign population, while Barcelona is at 58%, slightly above average, with Sant Joan de Vilatorrada (46%), L'Escala (45%), and Lloret de Mar (39%) bottom of the rankings. 

The data obtained by Catalan News also reveals that 28,685 foreign people that reside in Catalonia without being registered in the 'padró' census got the vaccine through the local public health system. Morocco (4,383 people), Pakistan (2,662), Romania (1,702), Senegal (1,488) and Colombia (1,208) are the top five nationalities in this situation. 

Besides, 3,605 people have received the doses even without being having a CatSalut card, that is, without being registered in the public health system – as Catalan News has reported several times, this community has experienced problems to obtain their certificate for months.