The DA Spain Women’s Caucus met April 29th to discuss Covid-19 and Vaccinations. We discussed the devastating social impact of the pandemic on our lives.  While many of us feel we are not coping all that well, others have gotten the first AstraZeneca vaccinations. 

We find ourselves locked in at home, with little to no interaction with others outside our household. For some it’s even become difficult to make ourselves “do something”, whether it be exercising to a free YouTube video or simply taking a nice walk. Some of us are thankful to have pets because that forces us to go out. Some of us feel the impact of gaining “19” pounds during the pandemic.  Some of us are planning trips for this summer, or sooner if possible, 

Those who are not,  are eager to get vaccinated. Once vaccinated, we can travel. We can be with friends and family. We can go back to work. We can simply move around freely. But the problem here in Spain is, “How in the world do I register for the vaccine?” Each one of the 17 autonomous regions has its own process and none of them are easy to navigate. And if you ask 5 different people in your region what to do, you’re likely to get 5 different responses and a lot of I’m not sure. Please find below a list of sites with information about how to register in your region and information from the US Embassy along with information about the vaccine.

Region by region: What foreigners in Spain should do to register for the Covid-19 vaccine

COVID-19 Information | US Embassy & Consulate in Spain and Andorra

Spain to introduce COVID-19 vaccination certificate

Vaccine Voices - Covid-19 vaccine experiences

Different COVID-19 Vaccines

Vaxzevria (previously COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca) | European Medicines Agency

Additionally, here are some of the facts and statistics about covid and vaccinations here in Spain:

Spain Cases/Deaths Statistics:

• Approximately 3.5 million cases of Covid-19. Of those, 77,000+  died.
• Right now, 200,000+ active cases. 
• Daily deaths April 2021 are averaging just under 100/day. During the strict shutdown in July 2020, the daily death average was < 5/day.
• Compared to peer EU countries, Spain’s current infection rate is much lower. Italy, Germany, France, and Poland all have notably higher numbers.

Spain Vaccination Statistics:

• More than 13 million doses of vaccine. Currently, on average, about 400,000 doses are administered each day.
• European countries are giving vaccinations to about 10% of the population every 30-35 days. By comparison, the USA is doing 10% every 21 days.
• As expected, there is a very strong correlation between more vaccinated people and lower infection rates.
• There are currently four vaccines being supplied to the European Union:  Pfizer/BioNTech,  Moderna/Lonza,  Oxford/AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson/Janssen. The EU has contracted for 300M doses of Pfizer, 180M of Moderna, 400M of AZ, and 50M of J&J.
• Latest news: The European Union is about to sign a deal for 1.8 billion doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine after a dispute with AstraZeneca derailed its vaccination campaign.