Spain to receive fewer Moderna shots, more from Pfizer

By Alyssa McMurtry

OVIEDO, Spain (AA) - Spain will receive about half the vaccine doses expected from Moderna this month but the Health Ministry announced Thursday the purchase of another 20.8 million doses of the Pfizer/BioNtech vaccine this year.

Spain has already administered 2.6 million jabs – more than 90% of all COVID-19 vaccine doses received. The shortage from Moderna means the program faces further delays.

Moderna says the February shortage will be made up in March, which is also when extra Pfizer/BioNtech doses will begin to arrive.

Spain originally bought more than 30 million doses from Pfizer but added 20.8 million doses for €15.50 ($18.77) each.

The Health Ministry said the move will help the country meet its goal of vaccinating 70% of the population by the end of summer.

Meanwhile, Spain saw another 530 COVID-19 deaths Tuesday.

The number remains extremely high but marks the first week that fatalities appear to be declining since the third wave of the pandemic pummeled Spain after the Christmas holidays.

Cases also continued to drop, with 10,057 infections.

Active hospitalizations are simultaneously falling, though 37% of intensive care units remain in use by COVID-19 patients.

Elsa Lomas Garcia was released on her birthday Tuesday from a Madrid hospital where she spent 315 days battling the virus – the longest among all patients in Spain.

Her illness was complicated, putting her in intensive care for 150 days. Garcia, 53, still suffers the effects of the disease, including partial paralysis from a cerebral stroke that occurred while in the ICU.

“I’ve assimilated what’s happened and am very excited for the future. I haven’t seen my daughter for a year and I want to see how she’s changed,” she said in a video filmed by Gregorio Maranon Hospital.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court revoked an 8 p.m. curfew enforced by the Castile and Leon local government, insisting that the earliest curfew possible under the current legislation is 10 p.m. Hospitality groups said they are preparing to sue for losses.

Even without court rulings, more regions are relaxing measures this week including parts of Murcia and Galicia.