Half of Spaniards vaccinated with one dose, mask rules eased

MADRID - Spain has vaccinated half of its 47 million population with at least one dose and nearly 32%, or over 15 million people, have been fully inoculated, the Health Ministry said on Wednesday.

With a record 680,540 people receiving a vaccine over the past 24 hours, Spain has already administered nearly 37.6 million doses, putting it on track to reaching the government goal of fully vaccinating 70% of the population by late August. Infection numbers have been falling for weeks and Spain is preparing to lift a blanket obligation to wear masks outdoors from Saturday, as announced by Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez last week.