Spain is creating a register of people who refuse to receive the COVID-19 vaccination and will share it with other European Union member states, the country’s Health Minister, Salvador Illa, told broadcaster La Sexta on Monday. .
The big picture: Spain on Monday became the fourth European nation to exceed 50,000 deaths from the coronavirus, after the United Kingdom, Italy and France, according to Johns Hopkins. Almost 1.9 million cases are confirmed. Illa said vaccines are free and not mandatory. Data on those who refuse vaccination will not be made publicly available “and will be done with the utmost respect for data protection,” he added.
Flashback: Spain becomes the first nation in Western Europe to exceed 1 million COVID-19 cases