Spain will keep a registry of all residents who refuse a Covid vaccine

Spain plans to keep a record of residents who have and have not agreed to take a Covid-19 vaccine.

The Spanish Ministry of Health released a Vaccination Strategy report on Monday (21 Dec), which included information on a “vaccination registry” for each citizen.

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The document states, “Without prejudice the duty of collaboration falls on individuals to get vaccinated against Covid-19 and will be voluntary.”

It also adds, “It is considered important to register cases of rejection of the vaccination in the vaccination registry, in order to understand the possible reasons for this in different population groups.”

Registry will not be made public

Speaking during an interview with La Sexta television on Monday (28 Dec), Health Minister Salvador Illa said, “What will be done is a registry, which will be shared with our European partners… of those people who have been offered it and have simply rejected it.

“It is not a document which will be made public and it will be done with the utmost respect for data protection.

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People who are offered a therapy that they refuse for any reason, it will be noted in the register… that there is no error in the system, not to have given this person the possibility of being vaccinated.”

‘Not getting vaccinated is a mistake’

In other comments made on Monday, Illa emphasised the importance of being vaccinated.

“People who decide not to get vaccinated, which we think is a mistake, are within their rights,” he said.

“We are going to try to solve doubts. Getting vaccinated saves lives, it is the way out of this pandemic.”

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The health minister said that the best way to defeat the virus was “to vaccinate all of us - the more the better.”

According to a recent poll, 28 per cent of Spanish citizens said they would not take the vaccine. This number has fallen from the 47 per cent who said they wouldn’t take it back in November.

Spanish Covid-19 restrictions

Spain recently became the fourth European country to bypass more than 50,000 Covid-19 deaths.

There are currently a number of Covid-19 restrictions in place across the country, including limiting social gatherings to a maximum of six people, and placing a curfew on venues like bars and restaurants.

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While specific face mask guidance varies from one region to another, generally face coverings are mandatory for anyone over the age of six years old on all forms of public transport, and in many indoor and outdoor public spaces.

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