Hundreds of nurses specializing in offering dialysis treatments for patients with Chronic Renal Failure (CKD) were vaccinated today against Covid-19 with the Pfizer vaccine.
Mass vaccination occurred after the Department of Health accepted the Atlantis Health Care Group owner’s recommendation to elevate to essential category A-1 essential staff handling CKD cases, making Puerto Rico the first jurisdiction. in the nation in prioritizing this condition.
The president of Atlantis Health Care Group in Puerto Rico, Dra. Rubette Harford, stated that “the vaccination process against Covid-19 will be carried out in stages in all our clinics, starting first with the nursing staff who offer direct care to patients. Then we will continue with the biomedical staff, dietitians, social workers and maintenance staff to ensure that dialysis services continue to be provided uninterruptedly ”.
As he explained, the centers located in Carolina, Aguadilla and Ponce will be used as a base to administer the first 400 vaccines to staff working in these clinics or in those close to each of the regions mentioned.
“The specialized management plan that was developed includes administering the vaccine in stages, understand that not all staff of a clinic will receive the vaccine on the same day. This will allow us to properly monitor and take the necessary actions in case any employee have an adverse reaction.In addition, this way we can ensure the continuity of the service so essential for patients suffering from kidney failure, ”Dr Harford explained.
Atlantis Health Care Group has about 700 employees working in 16 dialysis units located across the island and all have the credentials of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Department. of Health in Puerto Rico for the vaccination process.
“We thank the Department of Health for the speed with which it responded to our complaint, as patients diagnosed with chronic kidney failure have a highly compromised immune system, making them highly vulnerable to infections. In fact, 22% of patients who received treatment in our clinics and tested positive for Covid-19 were unable to overcome the virus.We hope that this vaccine will help stop the spread of the coronavirus and that in the near future we can return to normalcy, “the Atlantis president concluded.