In Spain, a 96-year-old living in a care home became the first person in the country to receive the Covid-19 vaccination.
“Let’s see if we can get rid of this virus,” Araceli Rosario Hidalgo told reporters that had gathered at her care home in the central Spanish city of Guadalajara, near a Pfizer storage depot, adding that she had felt “nothing” from the shot.
The vaccination, broadcast live on television, offered a moment of hope in a country hard-hit by the virus. Spain has confirmed 1,854, 951 cases of the virus and at least 49,824 deaths.
Soon after a worker at the home, Mónica Tapias, became the second person in the country to receive the vaccine, followed by residents of the care home.
The first doses in Italy’s rollout of the Pfizer vaccine were given early on Sunday to a researcher, a nurse and a social health worker at Rome’s Spallanzani infectious-diseases hospital.
“I feel great, I am excited and proud,” told reporters Maria Rosaria Capobianchi, researcher and director of the Spallanzani Virology Laboratory, who was among the first three people in Italy to receive the Covid-19 vaccine this morning. “I hope this privilege will be extended to everyone soon.”
The first shipment of 9,750 coronavirus vaccines arrived in Italy on 25 Dec from Puurs, in Belgium.
“It’s a first step but the battle is still far from being won’’, said Italy’s Health Minister Roberto Speranza.
‘’This day will remain in history’’, said Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte.
On Saturday Italy has registered 10,407 new cases in the last 24 hours and 261 deaths. On Thursday, the total number of coronavirus cases recorded here have passed the two-million mark.
Israel will enter what officials hope will be its last coronavirus lockdown on Sunday as they ramp up vaccinations to a pace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said may allow an emergence from the pandemic by March, Reuters reports.
If realised, that could help Netanyahu’s re-election hopes after missteps that include lifting a first lockdown with a premature declaration of victory in May, inconsistent enforcement of curbs and sluggish economic relief.
After beginning vaccinations a week before the European Union’s roll-out on Sunday, Israel’s centralised health system is now administering around 70,000 shots daily.
Netanyahu wants that raised to 150,000 by next weekend, with the opening of 24/7 vaccination stations among proposals.
Such a pace could enable the vaccination of half of Israel’s 9 million population by the end of January. The country has logged almost 400,000 Covid-19 cases and 3,210 deaths.
“As soon as we are done with this stage, within 30 days we can emerge from the coronavirus, open the economy and do things that no country can do,” Netanyahu said in a televised address.
The conservative premier is running in a March 23 election called after his governing coalition collapsed this month.
An Israel Democracy Institute poll released on Sunday found that 40.8% of the public gave the government mostly positive ratings for its handling of the crisis’ medical aspects, while 32.2% gave it mostly negative ratings. On the economic aspects, the government’s ratings were 52.8% negative and 19.7% positive.
