Flu and Covid jabs on the Costa del Sol « Euro Weekly News
The 2026/27 flu and Covid campaign is already under way across Andalucia, including the Costa del Sol from Sotogrande to Torremolinos and the inland towns behind the coast. It opened on Thursday, October 1, and further groups are being added over the next three weeks. The timetable is the same throughout the region, so residents in Estepona, Marbella, Fuengirola, Benalmadena and Torremolinos follow the same dates as people further inland, and the same schedule already published for Axarquia and Granada.
Who can get vaccinated and when
The first groups have been eligible since October 1. That includes children aged six months to almost five, children aged five to 17 with health conditions or other risk factors, pregnant women, and teachers of children under five. Children aged three and four are preferably being given the nasal flu vaccine at school.
Residents of care homes and disability centres have also been included from the first day, together with the staff who look after them.
From Wednesday, October 7, the programme expands to people aged 80 and over, people with high dependency who are cared for at home and their usual carers, plus healthcare and social-care professionals. People aged 70 and over can join from October 14, as can adults under 60 with specified health conditions or risk factors.
The last October expansion is on October 21, when the flu jab opens to everyone aged 60 and over. Police and other security forces, firefighters, prison staff and people whose jobs involve exposure to animals are included from the same date.
Covid vaccination is more tightly targeted than the flu jab. The Servicio Andaluz de Salud is concentrating the Covid dose on people aged 70 and over, care-home residents and people with qualifying health conditions, rather than offering it to the whole adult population. The timing matters: Covid has already moved Spain into an epidemic phase, while flu is still below the threshold.
What about non-EU residents?
British and other non-EU residents on the Costa del Sol follow the same Andalucia-wide timetable if they are covered by the public health system. A resident aged 80 or over can book from October 7. Someone aged 70 to 79 can do so from October 14, and those aged 60 to 69 join the flu programme from October 21. People who live with someone for whom the flu jab is recommended can also be vaccinated when that group enters the programme.
What is different this year
The high-dose flu vaccine, previously reserved for people aged 80 and over, is now being offered from 75. Care-home residents, and people aged 12 and over with certain forms of immunosuppression, are being given the protein-based Covid vaccine Bimervax. Later in the campaign, the Junta also plans to offer RSV vaccination to nursing-home residents and adults with severe immunosuppression. Details will come through the usual SAS channels.
Take-up is the other reason to book early. In the last completed campaign, Malaga was among Andalucia’s top-performing provinces, but coverage still fell well short of the groups the health service wants to reach.
Walk-in days later in the autumn
Appointments can be made through ClicSalud+, the Salud Andalucia and Salud Responde apps, Salud Responde on 955 54 50 60, or at the local health centre. Not every centre is a vaccination point, so it is worth checking the location and the hours before travelling.
For anyone who would rather not book, the SAS has set walk-in flu sessions every Wednesday from November 11 to December 16, plus two “super Saturdays” in shopping centres. Dates and venues for those Saturdays have not yet been confirmed.
