Since the 3rd of May, the Mijas Mass Vaccination Centre is located in the Lagar Don Elías in Las Lagunas, prepared, for the moment, to administer up to 500 daily doses. The provincial delegate for Health of the Regional Government in Andalusia, Carlos Bautista, the mayor of Mijas, Josele González (PSOE), the deputy mayor José Carlos Martín (C’s), the councillor for Civil Protection, Tamara Vera (PSOE), and the Manager of the Sanitary District of the Costa del Sol, Aurora López, visited the facilities on the 4th to assess how everything was developing.

“We have set up these spaces, which are necessary now that many more doses are arriving, and these centres are essential”, the delegate stressed.

Collaboration between the different administrations has been essential to launch this centre. “In just two weeks, we have managed to transfer the centre efficiently to the Cortijo Don Elías, and that is thanks to the professionalism of the health workers, to the joint work we have carried out from the Local Council in Mijas, where we have not skimped in human resources to be able to start it up and, at the same time, we collaborate by providing all the furniture needed”, declared the mayor.

For his part, councillor Martín stressed that “Mijas has made this centre available to the ‘Junta’ (Andalusian Board), and the Cortijo Don Elías is a privileged place due to its location, its characteristics, for all the citizens pertaining to the Sanitary District of the Costa del Sol who are going to be vaccinated here”. The deputy-mayor also added that “Mijas is an example of the collaboration, throughout this pandemic, that we have ensured among all the administrations in which Mijas has also been an example and a reference, since we are all advancing in the same line”.

From the delegation they pointed out that the vaccination rate in the province is being good, inoculating all the doses received. “We have had a chance to learn a lot and the reality is that we are waiting for many doses to arrive, and all the vaccines that come to us are inoculated immediately”, said Bautista.

“The objective that all administrations have is none other than to reach the percentage of group immunity that is so important so that we can continue to have as normal a life as possible”, assured mayor González. Vaccinations are being carried out from 9 in the morning until 8 in the evening without interruptions.

More comfortable & accessible installations

Before enabling the Cortijo don Elias as a Vaccination Centre, the Mijas Local Council had already ceded the showroom of the Las Lagunas Cultural Centre to the Health District of the Costa del Sol.

Now, this new space, which was launched on Monday, May 3rd, is more spacious, accessible and comfortable for users, who are called to be vaccinated and which, in the words of the authorities, has been enabled in record time.
“I believe that the Cortijo Don Elías meets all the necessary requirements to be a good vaccination centre, not only because of the spaces, the easy access, the parking lots, the covered areas but also because of the open air”, said González, who added that “it is important that this space is prepared and the logistics arranged so that when we have a greater number of vaccines we can react quickly to increase the rate of vaccination”.
In this regard, the manager of the Sanitary District thanked the Local Government in Mijas for the willingness shown to “in a matter of one week” enable this space that can house up to ten vaccination posts, a waiting room, an observation room and a vaccine preparation area.

“Today they are vaccinating with the Pfizer doses, although we also have vaccinations from Astrazeneca. Last week we started with the Janssen vaccines and they informed us yesterday afternoon that the Moderna vaccines have also arrived in Spain, which will be made available in the moment that we have them”, stated López.
From the Costa del Sol Health District they continue with the active recruitment protocol, explained the manager: “We are calling people from 60 to 67 years of age for vaccination and from 68 upwards.

Citizens over 68 years of age have been authorised to request an appointment directly through the external channels provided through ClicSalud and Salud Responde”.

Collaboration of civil protection

To carry out this vaccination campaign with the maximum guarantees, the Local Council has set up a special device made up of Civil Protection volunteers, present from the beginning. They are responsible for ensuring compliance with sanitary measures and caring for people called to be vaccinated. All this, in coordination with the Sanitary District, affirmed the councillor for the group of volunteers, Tamara Vera: “Once again our volunteers are now present at the Cortijo Don Elías, and these will be a team that will be extended over the coming weeks to cover both the morning and afternoon schedules and in order to be able to carry out a safer control of the people who come to be vaccinated”.

Vera thanked the group for their involvement in this campaign and the collaboration of the Red Cross, which has provided different equipment and material to the Centre. “I want to value the great effort made by Civil Protection volunteers, at each of the vaccination posts, helping, especially the elderly, either solving doubts, or accompanying them on their arrival”.

The residents’ opinions

Citizens summoned to receive the Covid vaccine come to their appointment hoping that all this will be over soon. With uncertainties, but most of them get the vaccine because they assure that they feel calmer that way. “Of course it gives one more peace of mind and hopefully everything goes well and with the second dose we will see if all this is over”, explained Antonio Gómez, who received the vaccine without any reaction. Upon arriving at the Mijas Vaccination Centre, now installed in the Don Elías Lagar, the residents are greeted by Civil Protection volunteers, who tell them at all times what to do. They first line up until it is their turn. Once they have gone to the consultation, they answer a brief medical questionnaire and, afterwards, the nurse inoculates the vaccine. Finally, they rest in the observation room for about 15 minutes and, if everything goes normally, they go home.  “Everything is going quite well. We are inoculating between 400 and 500 doses”, explained Ana Isabel Durán, a nurse at the Las Lagunas Health Centre. The health workers have to prepare the injections one by one, “it entails a certain process to prepare each vaccine. From each vial between 6 and 7 doses are extracted”.

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