Sitting in a wheelchair, Elizabeth takes a deep breath and closes her eyes as she receives the puncture in her left shoulder. At age 91, he is the first person in Costa Rica to be vaccinated against covid-19.
At the nursing home where she lives, a nurse, patiently, slowly inoculates her antibodies with the syringe. Elizabeth Castell feels the trance is over and opens her eyes. He wears an N95 mask but his gestures reveal that he is smiling. Raise your hands. The medical staff applauds.
“I am very grateful to God, because I have asked him a lot. My life is very important to me, take advantage of every moment,” he says in a calm, thick voice.
The dose he received, manufactured by the American-German duo Pfizer / BioNTech, is one of the 9,750 that arrived in Costa Rica on Wednesday night, making it one of the first countries in Latin America to have this remedy. , just on Christmas Eve.
Next on the turn is George of Ford. Sitting on a sofa, after having moved a few meters leaning on a walker, he himself rolls up his shirt to receive the substance.
“Let everyone be vaccinated. He didn’t know anything serious,” exclaims the 72-year-old.
“This moment represents for the country the beginning of the road to end the covid-19 pandemic,” said Costa Rican President Carlos Alvarado, present at the vaccination that took place in a premises of the Fundación Pro Persones Adultes Majors, in San Ramon de Tres Rivers, 12 km east of the capital, San José.
-Also the doctors-
In addition to Jordi and Elizabeth, a doctor and a nurse from the Specialized Patient Care Center with covid-19 in the city center, they also received their first dose.
The nurse who vaccinated the internist José Acuña warns her that she could have symptoms similar to those of a flu, but that she should not be alarmed.
“It is a great honor to be among the first citizens to receive this vaccine. It is a huge effort to be one of the first countries with the vaccine and it will allow us to face what comes next with more peace of mind,” says Acuña.
He says his daughters have lived in fear for their integrity for the past eight months, but upon learning that their father was going to be one of the first to be vaccinated, they erupted in joy. “The country has been waiting for this, the world has been waiting for this,” he adds.
Like all other vaccinated people, in 21 days they must receive the second and last dose, necessary to obtain immunity. Eleven health workers and a dozen elderly people were vaccinated during the day.
This first batch is exclusively for health officials working on the front line to fight the pandemic and seniors.
The Central American country, with a population of five million, has an agreement to gradually receive 3 million vaccines from Pfizer that will cover 1.5 million people.
In addition, it already has agreements with AstraZeneca to vaccinate 500,000 people, and with the COVAX mechanism, favored by the WHO, to serve 1 million citizens.
The outlook is that by the end of next year, three million people will be protected from the disease.
Costa Rica expects to cover 80% of the population over the age of 18. Each week, new doses will arrive and the vaccination will be done according to the group scheme prepared by the Costa Rican Social Security Fund.
On Wednesday, Costa Rica accumulated 161,942 confirmed cases of covid-19 and 2,065 deaths. It keeps 634 people hospitalized and 239 of them in intensive care.
In recent days, the country has experienced a surge in infections and has the most space for critical patients.