Spain donates 5 million anti-Covid vaccines to Colombia

The Government of Spain announced the donation to Colombia of more than 5 million doses of Pfizer’s vaccine against Covid-19, a significant fact that reflects the importance of the strategic alliance between the two countries.

The donation, which will be made through the Covax mechanism, comes amid the growth of infections in Colombia due to the appearance of the omicron variant in several cities of the country.

“In line with its unconditional defense of fair, equitable and universal access to vaccines against Covid-19, and in the context of the good health management of the Colombian government, Spain is preparing to donate a new batch of 5,488 in the coming weeks .470 doses of Pfizer vaccines, “the Spanish embassy said in a statement.

“The donation shows, once again, Spain’s commitment to the health and well-being of the Colombian people, following strictly epidemiological criteria endorsed by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO),” the statement added.

With this new donation, one third from the European country, the total number of vaccines donated by Spain to Colombia reaches 6,546,070 doses from Pfizer and AstraZeneca. This figure places Spain as the first international vaccine donor for Colombia, followed by the United States, with 6 million doses.

It should be noted that during the last XXVII Ibero-American Summit, held in Andorra, the President of the Spanish government, Pedro Sánchez, announced the donation of vaccines for countries in Latin America and the Caribbean affected by the pandemic. Currently, and according to official figures, these donations amount to more than 20 million doses, with Colombia being the main recipient.

Spain has donated more than 50 million vaccines globally, highlighting that that country cannot effectively protect itself against the pandemic if vaccination does not advance in the other nations of the world.

For its part, the Colombian Government expressed its gratitude and highlighted this donation as a sign of the excellent relationship between Bogotá and Madrid. “With this new donation, our historical relations with Spain are strengthened, which becomes the first donor of vaccines against Covid-19 in our country.

We highlight the recognition that the Spanish Government makes to the good management that we have carried out during the pandemic ”, said President Iván Duque.

According to data from the Colombian Ministry of Health, the country has received 84.3 million vaccines against Covid-19, of which a total of 64,690,489 doses were applied in 2021. Of that total, 28,323,837 million people already have their full immunization schedule, while 3,324,832 have received a booster dose.