Sanchez hails benefit of mass vaccination in Spain

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Wednesday the country is "more prepared" and "more protected" against COVID-19 thanks to its high vaccination rate.

Speaking during an end-of-year press conference in Madrid, Sanchez said there was a clear relationship between admissions at hospital intensive care units and those who are not vaccinated.

Spain currently has one of the highest vaccination rates in the world.

Sanchez's comments came as the country's Health Ministry said the mandatory isolation time for people who test positive and for unvaccinated people who have been in close contact with an infected person will be shortened from 10 to seven days.

A public health commission representing experts and health chiefs from Spain’s central and regional governments approved the new rules “unanimously,” the ministry said in a statement.

Spain doesn’t currently mandate quarantines for double-dose vaccinated people who have been in contact with a positive case.

The new rules follow similar moves by health authorities in the United States, the United Kingdom and some European countries.

Health Ministry data showed a new record of nearly 100,000 reported infections on Tuesday, bringing the closely-watched 14-day infection rate to 1,360 cases per 100,000 residents.

That’s nearly twice the level from a week earlier and five times the incidence rate at the beginning of December.

Although primary care health services are now feeling the strain of people showing up with symptoms and requiring tests, hospitalizations are lower than during previous virus surges.

Spanish experts are linking the milder affection to a vaccine uptake of more than 80% of Spain’s 47 million residents.

IMAGE: AP