Walk-in vaccination for young people exceeds expectations

BarcelonaThe number of covid infections in Catalonia continues unabated, especially among young people, but the desire to get vaccinated also continues. A clear example of this eagerness to be immunised against the virus was seen Saturday morning in the primary healthcare centre (CAP) Ramon Turró of Barcelona, in Poblenou, where hundreds of young people were concentrated since early morning to receive one of the 1,000 doses of Pfizer that were administered without appointment. The long queues were formed long before the doors opened at 10 am, which is when the vaccination was supposed to start and was expected to last until 10 pm -if there were any doses left-, and some people had to wait three hours. In a few minutes the 1,000 available numbers were distributed and after two and a half hours half of the doses had already been given away.

The call exceeded all expectations, especially among young people between 16 and 29 who have been the last to be able to make an appointment to get vaccinated. This call was opened suddenly on Wednesday at noon and this also caused a virtual collapse, with peaks of more than 100,000 people waiting to access the web. But many of them did not arrive on time to make an appointment to get vaccinated and that is why, before the Department of Health hands out new hours, hundreds of young people tried again yesterday morning in the CAP of Barcelona. "It was a success", the director of the centre, Ester Julve, told Efe, adding: "We are in a fifth wave and we are exhausted, but we know that the only solution is to get vaccinated".

The long queues to receive one of the 1,000 Pfizer doses went all the way around the island where the CAP Ramon Turró is located, and the first and last ones coincided. The Guardia Urbana intervened to prevent crowds and also informed the people who wanted to be added that the numbers had already run out. In the long queues outside the building, people were looking for shade from the sun and there were some chairs to make the wait lighter. Inside the CAP, the early risers were getting the shot and many preferred to immortalise it with their mobile phones so that they could share the photo of the desired moment. Most of them explained that they wanted the vaccine to be administered so that they could travel and enjoy their leisure activities with more peace of mind.