Walk-in flu vaccination this Saturday in Malaga province's shopping centres

The Andalusian regional government is organising a walk-in vaccination day in shopping centres in the province of Malaga on Saturday, 13 December. The measure is part of the announcement made by regional minister Antonio Sanz, who said that 41 points will be set up throughout Andalucía's provinces, especially in areas with a large number of visitors.

This initiative joins "the walk-in days organised on Wednesdays in health centres, which are being very well received". The territorial deployment, information on which is available on the website of the Andalusian health service, includes four vaccination points in Almeria; eight in Cadiz; three in Cordoba; five in Granada; three in Huelva; four in Jaén; and seven in Malaga and Seville each, all preferably located in shopping centres and strategic locations with high traffic.

The campaign, comprising 41 nursing teams, with 150 nurses in total, operates from 11.30am to 7.30pm, at points such as the Santo Sepulcro brotherhood in Malaga city, the old town hall in Coín, the La Cañada shopping centre in Marbella, the Miramar in Fuengirola, El Ingenio in Vélez-Málaga, La Verónica in Antequera and Círculo de Artistas in Ronda.

The Nevada shopping centre in Armilla (Granada), the Alcampo centre in Linares (Jaén), the Gran Plaza shopping centre in Roquetas de Mar (Almeria), the Setas de la Encarnación in Seville, Plaza de las Monjas in Huelva, the Bahía Sur shopping centre in San Fernando (Cádiz), the Puerta de Europa shopping centre in Algeciras (Cadiz) and the municipal food market in Lucena (Cordoba) also take part.

According to Sanz, Andalucía is "ahead of the rest of Spain in the 2025-2026 campaign against flu and other respiratory viruses", thanks to the regional "action plan". "In just over two months, Andalucía has already exceeded the total number of flu vaccines administered in the entire previous vaccination campaign, with 1.73 million doses," the regional minister said.

More than one million doses have been given to the member of society of over 60 years of age and children between three and four years. With regard to other respiratory viruses, Antonio Sanz explained that more than 725,000 Andalusians have received the Covid-19 vaccine.

At the same time, flu coverage in nursing homes is at 90.1% and at 77.9% for coronavirus. Another target group, pregnant women, has already received 14,492 flu vaccines. The campaign against RSV bronchiolitis has achieved a coverage of 94%, which means that almost 37,000 babies have been immunised. According to Sanz, these figures incite optimism, but the guard should not be lowered.

The regional minister thanked healthcare workers, especially nurses, "for their magnificent work" and the public for their awareness, reminding Andalusians that "vaccination is the best weapon to protect ourselves and others".

Sanz has drawn attention to Andalucía's successful vaccination campaigns, declaring it the region with "one of the most advanced vaccination calendars in Spain: in terms of types of vaccines, coverage and investment".

He stated that "the budget for vaccines in 2025 has exceeded 172 million euros, four times more than in 2018". This investment has allowed the incorporation of new vaccines and the progressive expansion of age groups, with special attention to the protection of children and the elderly. According to Sanz, "there has been a lot of progress made by this regional government since 2019" such as the flu vaccination for children from six to 59 months and the vaccine for the nine-valent papillomavirus from 12 to 18 years of age for both girls and boys, in which Andalucía has been a pioneer.