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VACCINE

‘Foreigners with no public healthcare can now register for vaccine’: Spain’s Canary Islands confirms

Authorities in the Spanish archipelago hadn’t fully clarified what foreign residents without access to public healthcare should do to get the Covid-19 vaccine. Now those who only have private health insurance can take action to get an appointment.

Published: 13 May 2021 18:38 CEST
'Foreigners with no public healthcare can now register for vaccine': Spain's Canary Islands confirms
The small coastal city of Puerto de la Cruz in Tenerife is home to many foreigners, especially Germans and Brits. Photo: Manfred Zajac from Pixabay

“We have been contacted by some of you who are living in the Canary Islands who do not have a ‘tarjeta sanitaria’ (public health card) – for example those of you with private health insurance – who have had difficulty registering for the Covid-19 vaccine,” wrote the British Embassy on Thursday May 13th. 

Brexpats in Spain head Anne Hernández also informed The Local Spain in recent days that Britons had contacted her to find out why the Canary Government hadn’t offered a solution to the problem of foreigners who aren’t on Spain’s public health system getting the jab. 

Other Spanish regions have either asked their extranjeros without a healthcard to either register at the town hall, contact their local health centre or get a temporary public health card, but it’s been an painstaking wait for many, especially for foreigners in the Islas Canarias. 

“The Canary Islands’ government has confirmed today that you should go to your local health centre to register your contact details,” the British Embassy in Madrid explained. 

“To do so you must show your identification documentation such as your 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 according to the priority group you are in”.

According to the Canary government website, the vaccination campaign for people in the 50 to 59 age group has now started but those in their 60s are also receiving their first vaccine currently. 

Although it has been reported this week that people in the Canary Islands born in 1957 can now book their own appointments, Canary health authorities are not encouraging the public to call 112 to book a vaccine appointment.

Thursday’s announcement is excellent news for Britons on private health policies in the Canary Islands but also for other foreign nationals who don’t have access to public healthcare, as the vaccine isn’t available in private health clinics anywhere in Spain. 

The Canary Isles, which are made up of 8 islands including Tenerife and Gran Canaria, are home to 286,500 foreigners according to the latest figures by Spain’s National Statistics Institute. 

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Member comments

  1. Here in andulucia you are supposed to be able to register . The junta says you need to fill in a form and present it with NIE and passport to register your consent for data protection . The reality on the ground is the local health centre won’t accept the form with out ; NIE , padrón , passport and proof of being in the area for more than. 180 days . Completely defeating the object of the plan .

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COVID-19

Public Health Agency recommends two Covid doses next year for elderly

Sweden's Public Health Agency is recommending that those above the age of 80 should receive two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine a year, once in the spring and once in the autumn, as it shifts towards a longer-term strategy for the virus.

Published: 23 December 2022 10:53 CET
Public Health Agency recommends two Covid doses next year for elderly

In a new recommendation, the agency said that those living in elderly care centres, and those above the age of 80 should from March 1st receive two vaccinations a year, with a six month gap between doses. 

“Elderly people develop a somewhat worse immune defence after vaccination and immunity wanes faster than among young and healthy people,” the agency said. “That means that elderly people have a greater need of booster doses than younger ones. The Swedish Public Health Agency considers, based on the current knowledge, that it will be important even going into the future to have booster doses for the elderly and people in risk groups.” 

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People between the ages of 65 and 79 years old and young people with risk factors, such as obesity, diabetes, poor kidney function or high blood pressure, are recommended to take one additional dose per year.

The new vaccination recommendation, which will start to apply from March 1st next year, is only for 2023, Johanna Rubin, the investigator in the agency’s vaccination programme unit, explained. 

She said too much was still unclear about how long protection from vaccination lasted to institute a permanent programme.

“This recommendation applies to 2023. There is not really an abundance of data on how long protection lasts after a booster dose, of course, but this is what we can say for now,” she told the TT newswire. 

It was likely, however, that elderly people would end up being given an annual dose to protect them from any new variants, as has long been the case with influenza.

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