The poll, which CIS conducted last month before some Spanish regions introduced mandatory COVID-19 passes, showed that the resistance was across the political spectrum. But nearly 3% of those polled – the equivalent of 1 million people if the figure was extrapolated to the country’s total population – were planning to avoid it. “Friends no longer invite the nonvaccinated to their private dinners,” she said.Ī recent survey by Spain’s polling institute, CIS, showed that about a third of the 1.6 million adults who remain unvaccinated in Spain were still planning to get their shots. Iris Reichen, a 61-year-old German-Spanish interpreter, said she was compelled to get her first shot by reports about the fast-spreading omicron variant, whose possible impact is still being considered by health experts, and because her social life had suffered. In addition, many people older than 60 were lining up for booster shots, which authorities want to extend soon to younger groups.īut, like Mariño, many say that proving they are either vaccinated or have recovered recently from COVID-19 is becoming compulsory in many places that had resisted the health passes until now. People at the Wizink Center, a large concert hall turned into a “vaccine-drome” in the Spanish capital of Madrid, give an array of reasons why they didn’t get their shots sooner. Since then, the two have become models for international health experts, who have applauded their populations’ trust in COVID-19 vaccines. The Iberian neighbors were rocked by the first waves of the pandemic that left tens of thousands dead. Both nations have reported cases of the omicron variant. Long lines for getting vaccines have returned to Portugal and Spain, two neighboring European Union nations that, despite having inoculation figures that are the envy of the world, are stepping up efforts to close the gap on the few residents still unvaccinated. “With the new variant and restrictions complicating life, getting the vaccine has become unavoidable,” he added. “I needed to get the jab to leave the country and return without any inconveniences,” Mariño said Wednesday at a large vaccination center in Madrid as he pressed sterile gauze against his left arm and rolled down his sleeve. His position only changed when he planned an end-of-the-year holiday in Portugal where authorities are cracking down on unvaccinated visitors as they confront a surge of infections and try to limit the spread of the omicron variant.
MADRID – Juan Esteban Mariño, a healthy 29-year-old, has been part of the rare cohort in Spain who have resisted health authorities’ strong recommendations to get their vaccine shots.
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