ARCHIVED - Elderly Málaga residents forced to wait for vaccines due to supply shortages
A shortage of vaccines has been a problem all over Spain
Health centres in the Andalusian province have been phoning people over 80 who had appointments this week to let them know they will have to wait
Vaccination in Málaga of people aged over 80 who do not live at care homes is to be seriously affected this week by a shortage in supply, as just half the doses of the Pfizer vaccine due to be delivered have arrived.
Málaga health district is receiving an average of between 1,100 and 1,200 doses a day, which are equally shared among all the health centres in the province with the majority currently being administered to the over 80s. This week, however, just half of the doses expected have arrived, meaning nurses are having to telephone people with appointments to inform them that their vaccinations will have to be postponed until the supply issues are resolved, hopefully next week.
Despite an ambitious mass vaccination plan drawn up by the regional government, which aims to have 70 per cent of the region’s population vaccinated by the summer, health professionals all over the country have complained at the lack of vaccines available (about 30 per day per health centre in Málaga’s case). The vaccination rate, medical staff stress, cannot increase until supply improves.