Former Deputy Minister of Health Eduardo Espinoza argues that health units should have been strengthened, rather than building cabins.
“Waste” and “unnecessary spending” are the main adjectives triggered by the Government’s announcement to build 156 vaccination booths or modules to implement the COVID-19 vaccine, despite costing $ 5 million, according with data provided by the Minister of Health, Francisco Alabi.
Each cabin will have an estimated cost of $ 32,000, the minister said; but there is still no precise information on when the vaccine will arrive in the country.
On social media, health professionals reminded the Government that the country’s public Health system has 700 Health units with adequate infrastructure and cold chain to keep the vaccine refrigerated with the required temperature.
The cold chain keeps the vaccine refrigerated until the exact time it is applied.
Former Deputy Minister of Health Policy, Eduardo Espinoza, describes the cabin project as an unnecessary expense because 100% of the population will not be vaccinated in a single moment; and had to be reinforced and spent in Health units, where vaccination sites already exist.
READ MORE: Vaccination modules for COVID-19 will cost $ 5 million, Health said
“It is not necessary to do all this deployment and unnecessary expenditure of resources in this whole structure that is being done (…) This is in my way of seeing a propaganda issue, for electoral purposes, but which does not respond to the need, ”he argued.
Minister Alabi justified the new investment by alleging that “El Salvador will not vaccinate a small percentage, not only will it be given access to 20% of the population, it will be given universal access” and that there there are 2,000 community health teams, who will provide care to the population in each of these modules.
In this regard, Espinoza expressed that there are 570 Community Family Health Teams that are located nationwide and that their work is itinerant and they are trained for home vaccination. “Personnel going to communities or going on itinerant routes, for the population who cannot go to the units, wear terms that are regulated and standardized with the requirements of the World Health Organization (to carry the and that in this case they can work “to move the vaccine against COVID-19, Espinoza said.
The former official stressed that it was these health teams, which in the last administration allowed El Salvador to position itself with high vaccination rates, surpassing Costa Rica in immunization rate.
Health doctor Francisco Erazo Cadena criticized through his Twitter account the construction of vaccination booths and argues that there is a need to improve the primary health system for the rural population, which has not had access to COVID-19 screening tests, and wondered if, With vaccination booths intended to cover this population?
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“The ideal is to strengthen the primary level (health promoters, pickups, clinics) … No vaccination modules,” the doctor argued.
Minister Alabi justified that the expense is because 4.5 million Salvadorans will be immunized, but does not give details of when the vaccine against COVID-19 will arrive in El Salvador and only mentioned that the vaccine to be applied is that of AstraZeneca ; storage requires the normal temperature of a refrigerator.
Minister Alabi stressed that the Government will get nine million doses of vaccine and will start immunization with doctors, nurses, elderly adults, people with chronic illnesses and Government employees like police, military, firefighters and others.
No cabin expenses in other countries
Parking lots, outdoor venues and event centers are the vaccination sites against COVID-19 in other countries.
For example, in Britain, the massive vaccination campaign started for residents at a health center in Cardiff, South Wales. The vaccine applied to this population is that of Pfizer-BioNTech.
While in the United States, in Davie Park, Florida, there is a COVID-19 drive-thru (self-service) Vaccination Center.