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VACCINE

Spain ‘to register’ those who refuse to have Covid-19 vaccine

Vaccinations against Covid-19, which will begin on December 27th in Spain will be voluntary, but the Ministry of Health has said that it will register those who refuse it.

Published: 21 December 2020 16:24 CET
Spain 'to register' those who refuse to have Covid-19 vaccine
Katja Fuhlert/Pixabay

Those who don’t wish to be immunised against the virus will not remain anonymous and the Ministry of Health will register the names of people who refuse to have it and their reasons why, reports 20Minutos. 

The Minister of Health, Salvador Illa has assured the Spanish public that the vaccine is effective against the new strain of Covid too, of which “there is no evidence” in Spain.

This information will be included in a ‘vaccination registry’ of each citizen. This new information appeared in a report on Vaccination Strategy against Covid, which was released by the the Ministry of Health on Monday, December 21st.

The document states: “Without prejudice the duty of collaboration falls on individuals to get vaccinated against COVID-19 and will be voluntary”. Despite this, it adds that “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”.

Those who agree to be vaccinated must first give verbal informed consent, except in certain circumstances when it may be required in writing, for example when it comes to vaccinating children in schools, when parents or guardians are not present.

The number of Spaniards willing to take a Covid-19 vaccine grew to 40.5 percent this month, from 36.8 percent in November, a new poll revealed on Monday December 27th, just days before Spain begins its inoculation programme.

Another 16.2 percent said they are willing to get the jab if it is shown to be “reliable”, up from 1.4 percent in November, according to the survey by the state-funded CIS research institute.

Meanwhile, the percentage of Spaniards who said they are unwilling to take the jab plunged to 28 percent in December from 47 percent in the previous month.

Spain plans to start immunising people against the coronavirus on Sunday, December 27th, starting with elderly residents and staff in nursing homes.

The government expects to have between 15 million and 20 million people out of its population of 47 million vaccinated against the virus by June 2021. 

Spain has been one of Europe's worst-hit countries by the pandemic, with the virus infecting around 1.8 million people and causing nearly 49,000 deaths, according to health ministry figures.

READ MORE: Spain to start vaccination program on December 27th

 

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COVID-19: ESSENTIAL INFO

How unvaccinated people can use France’s health passport

A health passport is now required to access a range of venues in France including bars, cafés, tourist sites and long-distance travel. For those who are not yet fully vaccinated, accessing the passport is still possible, but more complicated. Here's how it works.

Published: 9 August 2021 12:05 CEST
How unvaccinated people can use France's health passport
Photo: Geoffroy van der Hasselt/AFP

The French government has been clear that part of the intention of the pass sanitaire (health passport) is to push people into being vaccinated and as such daily life in France is now more complicated for those who are not vaccinated.

But for those who either cannot be vaccinated or have not yet completed the full vaccination course, it is still possible to access the passport.

EXPLAINED When and where you need the French health passport

Proof

The health passport requires one of three things; proof of fully vaccinated status, proof of a recent negative Covid test or proof of recent recovery from Covid.

‘Fully vaccinated’ here means having a vaccine approved by the European Medicines Agency (Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca – including Covishield – or Johnson & Johnson) so those who received a Sinopharm or Sputnik vaccine do not count as ‘vaccinated’ under French rules. You also need to be at least seven days post your final dose of the vaccine.

Most people have two doses of the vaccine, but ‘fully vaccinated’ can also mean a single dose of Johnson & Johnson, a single vaccine dose if you have previously had Covid or three doses if you are severely immunosuppressed.

Those vaccinated outside France may need to convert their certificates to make sure they are compatible with the French app – click HERE if you were vaccinated in the UK or HERE if you were vaccinated in the USA.

Covid recovery

If you have recently recovered from Covid you will need a positive Covid test that is no more than six months old. If you did not have a test while you were ill, or had Covid more than six months ago, you cannot use this route.

Recent negative test

If you are going for the testing option, there are some stipulations;

  • The test must be no more than 72 hours old (expanded from 48 hours initially) so if you intend to rely on testing you will need regular tests
  • The test must be taken in France, the app does not recognise foreign test certificates
  • The test can be either a PCR or antigen test. Home-testing kits can be used, but only – the health minister says – if done under the supervision of a pharmacist or medical professional (so it seems that you may as well get the pharmacist to do the test).

How to get a test

Some good news for those travelling from the UK, France’s testing system is much less chaotic and considerably less expensive than the UK’s and tests are relatively easy to access.

You can find tests at either medical testing labs, pharmacies or pop-up testing centres – either a PCR or an antigen test works with the health passport.

Medical labs require advance booking but most pharmacies advertise tests sans rendez-vous (without appointment) and pop-up testing centres (which are often just a gazebo on a street corner) operate on a walk-in basis.

Almost all pharmacies offer tests and even quite small French towns generally have at least one pharmacy, and you can also book tests online either via the medical app Doctolib or at sante.fr.

READ ALSO Vital French vocab to get a Covid test

Results for PCR tests are sent out later via email or SMS (usually within 24 hours) while for antigen tests they are generally given on the spot, although some pharmacies send them via SMS, this should not take more than 30 minutes.

How much?

At present all tests are free for residents of France, but from September ‘convenience tests’ for the unvaccinated will need to be paid for. Tests for any reason for vaccinated residents of France will continue to be free, and tests for those with symptoms or who are contact cases will be free for all residents.

Tourists and visitors to France need to pay for their tests.

Costs are capped by the French government at;

PCR – €49

Antigen – €29

What about children?

Children under the age of 12 are exempt from the health pass requirement.

Those aged between 12 and 18 are required to use it, but have a grace period until September 30th to allow them time to get vaccinated, after that they will need to show a health pass to access relevant venues.

France, along with quite a few other European countries, is currently vaccinating all over 12s, but if you are travelling from October from a country where the vaccine is not available to under 18s, then your children will need a test to access the health pass.

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