Every citizen is to be invited to get the vaccine, which is voluntary.

However, those who decline to accept will be noted in a register, Health Minister Salvador Illa told television broadcaster La Sexta on Monday.

The register will not be public and will be subject to rigorous data protection rules, although the data will be made available to "European partners," the minister said.

As in other EU countries, Spain launched its vaccination drive on Sunday. Araceli Hidalgo, a 96-year-old woman from Guadalajara, was the first person in the country to get the jab.

Over the coming 12 weeks, Spain is expecting to have access to around 4.6 million vaccine doses, with which up to 2.3 million people can get vaccinated.

Spain has a population of 47 million. It is hoped that the majority of the population can be vaccinated by the middle of next year.

The Spanish Health Ministry announced late Monday that an additional 298 people had died after catching the coronavirus, bringing the death toll recorded so far in the pandemic to over 50,000.

Australian Associated Press