MADRID, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Mass vaccination against COVID-19 began at Atletico Madrid's Wanda Metropolitano Stadium on Thursday, with over 1,000 firemen, police and civil protection officers receiving their first dose of a vaccine against the coronavirus.
It is hoped that between 300-400 people an hour will be able to be vaccinated there with around 10,000 people a day receiving the jabs as Spain speeds up its vaccination campaign.
In a ceremony to mark the first day of vaccination at the Stadium, Isabel Diaz Ayuso, president of Madrid's regional government, thanked the club for offering its home to help with the campaign.
"I congratulate Atletico Madrid for their generosity for giving us these magnificent facilities, which as everyone has seen, allow health professionals and citizens who come to get vaccinated to do so with the best guarantees, with safe circuits, different positions and with the possibility of having rest areas," said Ayuso.
FC Barcelona's Camp Nou Stadium will also be used as a vaccination center in the coming weeks.
According to the Spanish Ministry of Health, by Thursday, 3,436,158 doses of vaccines have been administered, with 1,231,782 people receiving both doses.
As the world is struggling to contain the pandemic, vaccination is underway in many European countries with the already-authorized coronavirus vaccines.
Meanwhile, 255 candidate vaccines are still being developed worldwide -- 73 of them in clinical trials -- in countries including Germany, China, Russia, Britain and the United States, according to information released by the World Health Organization on Feb. 23. Enditem