Health professionals pointed to an error expressed by Bukele, who said they are recycling thermal boxes of measles, rubella and mumps vaccines that came in on February 3 to transport doses against Sars-VOC-2.
“It’s a ridiculous argument.” So direct was Dr. Eduardo Espinoza, continental coordinator of the Latin American Association of Social Medicine (ALAMES), who was emphatic in that, if it is true that the Government recycled and reused these MMR vaccine boxes (against rubella, measles and mumps) who received on February 3 to transport medicine against COVID-19, made a mistake.
President Nayib Bukele posted on his Twitter that MMR vaccine boxes entered the country on February 3, adding that “the boxes are recycled and used to protect smaller boxes” which are the ones the Government has received. of the Serum Institute of India, of drugs against COVID-19.
SEE: PAHO clarifies that thermal box entered on February 3 with vaccines against mumps, measles and rubella
Detail of the vaccine box against COVID-19 delivered in Santa Rosa de Lima. / Photo EDH courtesy
Recycling these boxes like this “is not at all a correct procedure, it has never been and never will be today, for the president to say that it is done. Simply because this breaks the cold chain. You can not pack this type of content, in in this case the vaccines against COVID-19, if it is not in properly refrigerated containers. And this comes sealed, it does not have to open, break the box, and change (of box) “, valued also the exviceminister of Health.
“The box is already sealed, with the indications that the cold chain must be kept, which is inviolable, because otherwise the vaccine loses effectiveness. It’s a bit of a mess, I find the argument ridiculous. properly packaged and protected.They put it in containers that are guaranteed to keep the vaccine frozen, and pack it properly.It is not a container that deteriorates and requires them to change packaging in the future here, but it arrives to its place of destination, in this case to the health unit where they are going to store it, “Espinoza stressed.
Bukele’s tweet confirming that they are recycling measles vaccine boxes to transport doses of COVID-19 vaccines
“It is noteworthy that they are distributing COVID vaccines in the same boxes in which the MMR vaccines came, when it is assumed that COVID vaccines have their own boxes,” said for his part the infectious disease doctor Iván Solano Leiva, member of the Medical College of El Salvador.
Espinoza also pointed out that, in any case, it is not medically correct to reuse these boxes for MMR vaccines and use them to transport vaccines by COVID-19, because “they are bioinfectious waste. They should not recycle the boxes, they should reject, destroy -as, as with any other material that is a biological waste, especially in hospitals “.
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In addition, Dr. Espinoza clarified that it is rare for the Government to mention a direct purchase of vaccines at the Serum Institute of India, as when he served as Deputy Minister of Health in recent periods, they were acquired through the ‘World Health Organization (WHO).
“All our vaccines were guaranteed by the WHO, we did not make direct purchases. We gave the money to the WHO, and they were in charge, as they do with all of Latin America, to negotiate favorable prices with the producers of vaccines, and they guaranteed the quality of the vaccines until the time we received them.This for all vaccines, including the MME, could come MMR vaccine produced in Europe, the United States, India or China, and there was a guarantee of quality issued by the WHO, “Dr. Espinoza described.
As a former health official, Espinoza lamented that “within 20 months of being in government, there is no national health policy, no health plan, no pandemic treatment plan, and consequently there is no a vaccination plan. It is a chain that denotes the lack of planning and incompetence of this Government. “