Spain will have 3 million Covid-19 vaccine doses in December, says health minister

Spain will have its first batch of three million Covid-19 vaccine doses in December, said health minister Salvador Illa on Monday.

In a symposium organized by the daily 'El Español', Illa explained that 1.5 million people across Spain will be vaccinated at that stage as two doses are needed per person.

At-risk groups as well as people working with more vulnerable segments of the population will be the first to be vaccinated.

The University of Oxford and AstraZeneca will provide the first three million doses – around 10% of the 30 million vaccines the European Union will buy by December provided the final stages of the clinical trials are successful.

Yet, according to Spain's health minister Illa, the EU will also buy shots from seven to nine other vaccine developers, and from January there will be "regular supply" of vaccines made by AstraZeneca and other firms.

Clinical trial

In late August, the Spanish Medicine Agency authorized the first Phase 2 Covid-19 vaccine clinical trial to take place in Spain.

Illa explained that Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies, owned by Johnson & Johnson, would test the second phase of a potential vaccine, Ad26.COV2-S, in Spain, Belgium, and Germany.

This stage, which, implies human testing, saw 190 people receive doses in three Spanish hospitals located in Madrid and Santander.