Spain to keep list of people who decline coronavirus vaccine

Spain is planning to keep a record of individuals who refuse to receive the coronavirus vaccine, said the country's minister of health on Monday.

The log of people who refuse vaccination will be shared with the country's "European partners," but will not be shared with employers or otherwise made public, Salvador Illa told Spanish television channel La Sexta. Receiving the vaccine in Spain is voluntary.

About one quarter of Spanish citizens remain hesitant to receive the vaccine, according to recent polling — though the figure has fallen significantly since last month.

Spain has lost more than 50,000 citizens to the virus. The vaccine will reportedly be received by as many as 20 million of its 47 million residents by early summer.

"The way to defeat the virus is to vaccine all of us or the more the better," said Illa.