Covid 19 vaccine for all British residents in Alicante province

The Valencian Authorities have stated that all British residents in Alicante province will receive the Covid 19 vaccine.

Those with a SIP card from their health centre need not do anything as they will be contacted when it is their turn, however, those who are not in the state system and therefore do not have a SIP card must apply to their local health centre for a temporary one.

Without a SIP card you will not be vaccinated.

In order to get a temporary SIP, which can only be used for the vaccine, it is necessary to take an EHIC or GHIC and passport to the medical centre, explain that you need the temporary SIP card in order to have the coronavirus vaccine and the card will be issued.

It is also vitally important that your contact details are up to date on the system, as the medical centre will need them to call you for your vaccination.

If you need to change any details this can be done on the link below, which is in Spanish but simple enough to understand, here are the main phrases you´ll need:

 This is the link, when you enter the page you need to scroll down to input the information: http://www.san.gva.es/web/dgcal/formulario-de-contacto

This week members of the security forces and emergency services will begin to be vaccinated, along with the over 80´s and at risk members of the public and professionals most likely to be exposed to the virus.

After they are all vaccinated the plan of vaccinating by age will begin, starting with the 70 to 79 age group.

It is expected that half the population of the Valencian community will be vaccinated in three months with 400,000 doses a week being administered.

Things are not great in Spain as we all know, however it is getting better. The health ministry has announced that 6.5 million doses of the AstraZeneca, Moderna and Pfizer vaccines will arrive in Spain by the end of March.

There are also contracts for the new Janssen vaccine, which requires only one dose, and the CureVac vaccine. These will hopefully be ready in the next few months.

In Spain´s defence the health service have been vaccinating as many people as the doses allow, the problem seems to be more that the doses are slow in coming.

As of February 25^th, 87% of vaccines received had been given, that is one of the highest percentages in the EU, according to data from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).

It would appear that the main problem faced at the moment is limited supply, which as mentioned shouldn´t be an issue in the coming months.

Hopefully Spain will remain on target for getting 70% of the adult population vaccinated by the end of summer.

Remember also that Spain are giving both doses within the recommended guidelines, unlike other countries such as the UK.

These are unprecedented times and we all need to stay calm, stay safe, make sure we´re on the list for the vaccine and get vaccinated when it´s our turn.