Spain begins administering 2nd dose of coronavirus vaccine

Spain started on Sunday to administer the second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine at nursing homes throughout the country.

The vaccine requires a second dose to be injected three weeks after the first one to be considered effective.

Eighty-five-year-old Leocàdia Peña was among the care home residents in the northeastern region of Catalonia to receive the second shot.

She received the first dose of the vaccine on Dec. 27, 2020.

"I am happy to be one of the first to be as protected as possible," said Peña after getting the shot.

Staff at the Nostra Senyora de Ribera care home in La Pobla de Segur were also vaccinated.

Spain has administered 768,000 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, according to the most recent information provided by the health ministry.

Spain is also rolling out the Moderna vaccine, with less than 500 doses administered as of Friday.

The government has pledged to vaccinate 70% of Spain's 47 million inhabitants by summer.

Also on Sunday, Spain's government appealed to a court to overturn a decision by the regional authorities in Castilla y León to start its nightly curfew at 8:00 p.m., outside the range of 10:00-12:00 p.m. established by the nation's state of emergency.

On Friday, Spain reported 49,197 new cases on Friday, its highest daily figure since the start of the pandemic.