Spain’s Minister of Health Says COVID Vaccine Won’t be Accessible For Some Time

This Friday, the Minister of Health, Salvador Illa, has predicted that the coronavirus vaccines will not be available until sometime next year, “most likely in the second quarter”. However, by this point, one or more coronavirus vaccines will be available with quality guarantees.

The minister has pointed out that these deadlines could be delayed or advanced depending on the different processes that affect the development of the vaccines. However, he has set the expectancy date in spring of 2021. Illa has ensured that the countries of the European Union are coordinating to jointly negotiate and distribute vaccines equitably.

In his speech at the 29th Summer School on Social Cohesion, Citizenship and Well-being of the Barcelona Provincial Council, Illa stressed that, until the vaccine or treatment arrives, the population must get used to living with the virus “without fear but with respect”. “There are outbreaks and they will continue”, stressed the minister, who emphasized the need to detect them early and act quickly to control them.

Citing the latest available data, Illa has indicated that, since the end of the state of alarm, in Spain, there have been 146 outbreaks with 2,823 cases of the virus, 97 of which remain active, with a total of 1,972 cases. As for the latest data on healthcare pressure, it has been highlighted that in comparison to the peak of the pandemic where there were 47,036 hospitalized patients, more than 5,700 of them in ICU, now there are only 1,011 people hospitalized, 139 of which are in intensive care.