Vaccinating migrants in Ceuta reopens Spain's deportation row

Vaccinating migrants in Ceuta: the measure that reignites the debate

The department led by Mónica García has summoned Spain's autonomous communities to vaccinate the irregular migrant population of Ceuta. The official justification is the epidemiological risk in the Autonomous City. The move has come as a cold shower for those demanding that deportation be prioritised, a process that on the ground is moving far more slowly than the bicho.

A public health decision that politics turns into a dilemma

Given how bogged down the procedures are, it is hard to dispute the health logic: if most of these migrants will eventually be redistributed across the peninsula, vaccinating them first prevents the problem from travelling with them. That purely technical argument is the one made by supporters of the measure within the Government itself. The other, less charitable reading suggests the announcement acts as a magnet: if those crossing the fence know they will be vaccinated and not returned, the message sent to people-smuggling networks is hardly a deterrent.

The cost of a late precaution

The urgent call comes after weeks in which Ceuta has absorbed the pressure alone. Some voices argue that if immunisation had been planned earlier, there would be no need now for a hastily arranged meeting of regional health ministers. But in this debate no one seems willing to question the vaccines themselves, only the order of priorities: health first, or the border first? Meanwhile, another current has emerged, minority but loud, that questions the safety of the injected substances.

The only thing nobody disputes in this exchange of recriminations is that the epidemiological risk existed months ago. It has only taken the arrival of hundreds of people for the administrative urgencies to align with the health ones.