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ARCHIVED - Communities in Spain remain divided over Covid passport
The introduction of the health pass in Spain has increased vaccinations but failed to reduce infections
In mid-November, the majority of autonomous communities in Spain adopted a Covid passport system, whereby people were required to carry proof of vaccination, a negative test or having overcome the virus in order to access restaurants, bars, gyms and even hospitals. Its implementation had two clear objectives: to encourage unvaccinated citizens to get the jab and to reduce the transmission of the virus in enclosed spaces.
The results have been somewhat of a mixed bag. Between November 16 and December 26, an impressive 523,000 previously unvaccinated people across Spain opted to be inoculated, an unsurprising outcome in the run-up to the Christmas period. On the other hand, with Omicron sweeping the globe and now accounting for the vast majority of cases in Spain, infections have gone up rather than down, breaking a series of records in the new year.
And while the EU is still firmly behind the Covid passport, it now remains in just 11 communities in Spain, with Asturias and Catalonia joining Castilla y León, Castilla-La Mancha, Madrid and Extremadura in recent days by ditching the measure. On the other hand, both Valencia and Andalucía have extended the requirement.
Fernando Moraga-Llop, vice president of the Spanish Association of Vaccinology, has praised the Covid passport for the part it has played in the vaccination campaign, but as the data shows, it has had little impact on infections. Even so, the expert has argued that there is no real harm in requiring the certificate, especially if it means that “people who go to an establishment can feel safer.”
Despite worldwide protests against the Covid passport, the EU is standing strong in its decision to only allow fully vaccinated passengers to travel freely throughout the member states. In addition, from February 1, the document will only be valid for nine months after the second dose has been administered, after which time the holder must receive a booster jab.
The validity of the Covid recovery certificate will be 180 days, while a PCR will be accepted within 72 hours of travel; antigen tests will have to be taken within 24 hours.
See also: How to book a vaccination or booster jab appointment in Spain and how to obtain a Covid passport
Image: Archive
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