Throughout Spain, and particularly in the Valencian Community, there are thousands of foreigners (from the European and non-EU communities) who for various reasons do not have the right to public health care and do not have an SIP card. It is not that they do not want to; many, simply because they have income in their country of origin or for other reasons, are not registered with the social security system. This is an important group of residents who are fully part of our society (socially and economically). In the 'Covid-19 Vaccination Strategy in Spain' presented by the central government, this group of residents, in many cases people at risk, is not taken into account, and doctors working in the private sector are overwhelmed by requests for vaccines from this group. It should be noted that everyone would pay the costs without any problem, that is not the problem, it is simply that they do not have access to the vaccines because they are not on the public health list. The success of the vaccination campaign depends on being able to vaccinate as many people as possible, especially those at risk.
We have sent the following letter to those responsible for the Conselleria de Sanidad Universal y Salud Pública de la Comunidad Valenciana inviting them to look for a solution for this group and to offer them our help.
To the attention of:
- Dª. Ana Barceló Chico, Conselleria De Sanidad Universal Y Salud Pública, Carrer de Misser Mascó, 31, 33, 46010 València
- Ms. Encarna Llinares Cuesta, Territorial Director for Alicante: Calle Gerona, 26, 03001 Alicante (Alacant), Alicante
- Ms. Teresa Cardona Ribes, Territorial Director of Valencia: Gran Via De Ferran El Catòlic, 74, 46008 Valencia
- Colegio De Médicos Alicante, Avda. de Dénia, 47-A, 03013 Alicante
Benissa, 4/12/2020
Dear Sirs,
By means of this letter we would like to draw your attention to the situation of thousands of people living in the Valencian Community who are not in possession of an individual SIP health card and who are not being taken into account for the next Covid-19 vaccination campaign.
As you are well aware, throughout Spain, and particularly in the Valencian Community, there are many foreigners (from the European Community and from outside the EU) who, for various reasons, do not have the right to public health care. Most of these people have a private insurance and have medical care in the private sector in our country.
In the 'Covid-19 Vaccination Strategy in Spain' presented by the central government, this group of residents, in many cases people at risk, is not taken into account, and doctors working in the private sector are overwhelmed by requests for vaccines from this group of residents.
During the 2020 flu vaccination campaign we have seen that this group of residents has been left out by the policy of reserving flu vaccinations for SIP card holders and releasing a minimal and insufficient amount for the private sector.
We would like to ask you to take into account this important group of residents who are fully part of our society and should have the right and access to the same resources as any Spanish citizen. To avoid the spread of the virus it is important to take into account the whole population including those who do not have an individual SIP health card.
Furthermore, we would like to offer ourselves once again as a partner of public health in order to establish an effective collaboration for the benefit of all citizens by making our facilities, infrastructure and employees available to them.
Yours sincerely,
Dr. Max Meertens, Specialist in Family and Community Medicine, Registration No.: 030307645
