HEALTHPLAN MAGAZINE

As Spain’s vaccination program continues to gather pace, many of the 5 million foreigners living in the country will have questions based on their own personal circumstances.

Every day, we are receiving calls from our customers asking us when they will be contacted about their vaccine and whether or not they will even be eligible to receive one.

Others are worried that they will slip through the cracks and be overlooked due to not being registered with the Spanish health authorities.

Around 3 million of Spain’s foreign residents are believed to not be registered with the social security system and many of them will be concerned that they will be overlooked when it comes to receiving their vaccine.

Below we answer as many of your questions as we can, given the information we currently have available from the Ministry of Health.

How is Spain’s vaccine rollout progressing?

On June 12, 2021, the Ministry of Health reported that the vaccine program was going well and that more than 12 million citizens had received their full vaccine dose. A further 44 per cent of the population had received at least one dose.

In total, more than 32 million doses have now been administered.

Those between 40 and 49 years are now starting to be vaccinated.

Can I get a vaccine?

Yes. The Spanish authorities have already made it quite clear that regardless of their nationality or the type of health insurance they have, everyone resident in Spain will be eligible to receive a vaccine.

They have emphasised that no distinction will be made between citizens and non-citizens and have pledged to vaccinate everyone in the country, regardless of their legal status and whether or not they are registered within the health and social security systems.

It is important to understand that the vaccination campaign is being coordinated by the Spanish government and the public health authorities.
Private health insurance companies will not be independently administering vaccines to their customers.

Is there a waiting list?

No. A number of rumours have been circulating online that there is/was some kind of waiting list for people to be vaccinated. This is not true and has been debunked by some regional authorities including the Valencian regional government who said:

“There is no such list. Those who are eligible for a vaccine will be vaccinated according to the risk group they belong to, as per the wider vaccine rollout,” they insisted.

How will I be contacted?

This is where things become a little hazy.

As of yet, there is no clear indication as to how people will be contacted in order to be vaccinated, however, you can be sure that the vaccine will be undertaken by the regional health authority where you reside.

People have been advised to contact their local health centre and register with them regardless of whether they are entitled to free healthcare or have private health insurance.

Please see the section on this page with details of where you can register by phone and online depending on the region you are in.

Due to the pandemic, you are advised to contact them via telephone to make an appointment to register.

In most cases, you will need to provide the following information:

• Your passport (Take the original and a photocopy or two)
• Your residence document (Either the green A4 certificate or the new TIE if you have one. (Take the original and photocopies)
• Padrón certificate - Certificado de Empadronamiento (Take the original and photocopies)
• If you wish to register your children, you will need to take their birth certificates, although they should not need to be present. (Originals and photocopies)

You are advised to keep checking the health authority announcements for your particular region online as each of Spain’s regional government’s will be responsible for coordinating the vaccination rollout within their community.

You can find a full list of local health centres for each region via the following official health ministry page.
https://www.mscbs.gob.es/en/ciudadanos/centrosCA.do?metodo=busquedaCa

Select "Búsqueda en Catálogo Centros de Atención Primaria del SNS" and click "Consultar".

Then choose your region on the interactive map.

If you have not been contacted for your vaccine, you need to make sure you are registered with your local health authority and/or your local town hall.

When will I be contacted?

The health authorities aim to have 70% of the country’s 47 million citizens vaccinated by the summer, however, at the current rate this most likely will not be achieved.

At the moment, both stage 3 priority groups are in the process of being vaccinated which is for those between the age of 40 and 49.

The speed at which people will be contacted will very much depend on the region and the availability of the vaccines for each region.

Further information on vaccination progress can be found at https://www.vacunacovid.gob.es/

The Ministry of Health tweets daily with stats and figures including vaccination progress via their Twitter feed. https://twitter.com/sanidadgob

Which vaccine will I receive?

Since the vaccination rollout began on December 27, 2020, Spain has been administering a number of vaccines. These are:

• Pfizer/BioNTech
• Moderna
• AstraZeneca
• Janssen (Johnson & Johnson)

All of the vaccines have been authorised by the European Commission and have been approved by the EMA (European Medicines Agency), however, each vaccine is different in terms of efficacy, logistics and will be administered to different groups depending on their availability.

Those under 60 who had previously been vaccinated with the AstraZeneca jab will now receive the Pfizer jab as their second dose.

At the bottom of the following official page, you can see a full list of the different vaccines and which groups will be vaccinated with them.
https://www.vacunacovid.gob.es/preguntas-y-respuestas/cuando-me-vacuno

REGISTERING FOR VACCINATIONS

The following list has been provided by the British Embassy in Spain. It offers official links to pages where those who are not registered for state healthcare may apply for the COVID-19 vaccine.

Andalucia

Visit the following web page to register - https://www.sspa.juntadeandalucia.es/servicioandaluzdesalud/archivo-comunicado/alta-en-bdu-para-vacunacion-covid-19-extranjeros-y-espanoles-no-mutualistas-privados

You will then need to download and complete this form and take it to your nearest public health centre. 

You can find your nearest centre at the following address.
https://www.sspa.juntadeandalucia.es/servicioandaluzdesalud/el-sas/servicios-y-centros/informacion-por-centros?term_node_tid_depth_1=11267&title=&term_node_tid_depth=987

Further information for Andalucia can be found here https://www.andavac.es/campanas/covid/

Balearic Islands

Please call 971 211 999 to register.

The following information provides further information on the vaccine program in the Balearic Islands - https://www.ibsalut.es/vacuna-covid-19

Cataluña

You should apply for a ‘basic’ health card first. Once you receive the card at your home address, you can book a vaccine appointment. For further information see the Catalan regional governments website.

Murcía

If you are in the Murcía region, you can now register online at https://portalsalud.carm.es/portalsalud/principal/inicio#extranjeros

Madrid

To register for the vaccine, please call 900 102 112 or visit the following official web page.

https://www.comunidad.madrid/servicios/salud/vacunacion-frente-coronavirus-comunidad-madrid

The web page says “You must identify yourself by entering your CIPA number, or if you do not have a CIPA, your identification document (DNI / residency document or passport) and your date of birth. The system will check if you are in the age group available for getting the vaccine. You can then select your appointment from available slots. Once this is done, you will receive an SMS with the verification code to confirm your details. You will be given the details of your appointment, as well as a QR code to access the vaccination point. You will receive a reminder SMS at least 24 hours before the day of the appointment”.

Valencia Region (Comunidad Valenciana)

You will need to visit your local health centre to register. You will be given a provisional health card (SIP) to cover the vaccination and any other public health needs.

Andorra

If you are in Andorra, you can find further details at https://www.salut.ad/preinscripcio-vacuna-covid19/

The following links and information are courtesy of thelocal.es

Canary Islands

You should go to your local health centre to register your contact details. To do so you must show your identification documents such as a passport and a padrón certificate to demonstrate that you are a resident in the Canary Islands. Once registered, you will be issued an appointment for the vaccine.

Castilla y León

You should visit one of the regional vaccination hubs (no appointment necessary). You must show your passport, residency documents or TIE, and padrón certificate.

Castilla-La Mancha

For more information on how to register for your vaccine, please call 925 248 367. For more questions, you can also e-mail the following address: dgsp.vacunas@jccm.es

Asturias

Call 984 016 114 to register for the vaccine. You can also find further information by visiting the following official page.
https://www.astursalud.es/noticias/-/noticias/programa-de-vacunacion-covid-19

If you haven’t been contacted for your vaccine when your group is called up, you can leave your details with the number above and someone will get back to you.

Basque Country

You will need to make sure you are registered with your local health authority. You will be notified by text when your group is ready to be vaccinated.

You can find out more about the Basque Country’s vaccination campaign here https://www.euskadi.eus/vacuna-frente-a-la-covid-19/web01-a3txerto/es/ or here: https://www.osakidetza.euskadi.eus/inicio/

Galicia

To register for your vaccine, please call 981 569 540. For more information about the vaccine process in Galicia visit the following web page. https://www.sergas.es/Saude-publica/Vacina-COVID?idioma=es

Galician health authorities have told residents to make sure the contact details associated with their health card are up to date. If not, you can update them here: https://www.sergas.es/Tarxeta-sanitaria?idioma=es

If your group has been called, but you have not yet been contacted and are not registered, please call 881 002 021.

You may also check out the Galician regional health service website for further information.

Aragón

Please use the following official web page which talks you through how to book a Covid vaccination in Aragon.

https://www.saludinforma.es/portalsi/documents/10179/10861/Tutorial_cita_20210226.pdf/a44f96aa-0213-48c8-a5d9-3f9b5327096e

Navarra

You should visit your local health centre with your identification documentation and book an appointment with a social worker.

Cantabria

The information on registering for your vaccine can be found here: https://www.scsalud.es/coronavirus-vacunas-ciudadanos or by calling them on 900 612 112.

If you have private health insurance, they say not to worry and that they will call you via your padrón details when your group comes up for vaccination.

Extremadura

To register for your vaccine, please call 900 100 737. More vaccination information from the Extremadura Salud service can be found here: https://saludextremadura.ses.es/web/

If you have private health insurance, they say to get in contact with your local health centre when your group is called and show your ID card to prove your age.

La Rioja

You should register for the vaccine by emailing vacunascovid@larioja.org with your personal details including your full name, NIE number, date of birth and mobile telephone number.