Until now, Health Minister, Patricia Gómez hasn't considered it necessary to ask Private Clinics to help, but on Wednesday she told Parliament that it would mean 260,000 people a week could be immunised.
Last February the President of the Balearic Government estimated that around 80,000 people could be vaccinated in 7 days and that forecast was later increased to 120,000, but with the help of Private Clinics, that number could be more than doubled.
A few days ago Minister Gómez said public health capacity could manage the vaccination programme, but the AstraZeneca vaccine being put on hold has forced a rethink of the April vaccination programme.
Pfizer
Minister Gómez acknowledged that the shortage of doses is a major problem and revealed that Pfizer is doubling its shipments from 10,000 doses to 20,000 next week.
“That’s still insufficient, but more people will be vaccinated," she said.
An investigation is currently underway to determine whether the AstraZeneca vaccine is related to blood clots found in at least 30 people in Europe and Minister Gómez believes that AstraZeneca vaccinations will resume quickly.
“It's very likely that the AstraZeneca vaccine will also be given to those over 55, as discussed in the Public Health Commission before it was suspended,” she said. "We are more at risk from Covid-19 than from the AstraZeneca vaccine.”
Meanwhile, the Pfizer vaccination programme is continuing in the Balearic Islands with those over 80 years old.
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine has already been approved by the European Medicines Agency, and Minister Gómez is also optimistic about the Novavax injection which is still being studied.
"Its efficiency is 98% and it can be produced in Spain," she said.
As of Wednesday, 116,370 people in the Balearic Islands had received their first dose of the Covid-19.
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