Agencies and mayors are preparing for the second phase of vaccination

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Members of the Association of Mayors met yesterday with staff from the Department of Health and the National Guard to coordinate the next phase of vaccination against COVID-19, which is expected to begin in the coming weeks and which it covers people over the age of 65, professionals in the field of education and first responders.

This is the first major phase in which about 760,000 people can participate, according to the assistant general of the National Guard, José Juan Reyes, so they seek the assistance of municipalities to facilitate coordination and assign internal priorities in each city council .

“We have asked them to identify the first response staff, the municipal police, among others, to establish a system of appointments once phase 1B begins,” Reis explained in a brief meeting with the press at leaving the Villalba Convention Center, where the activity took place.

Phase 1A advances

Phase 1A consisted of the inoculation of health professionals and the vaccine is currently administered to staff and older adults in long-term care centers. As of yesterday, 39 of these centers had been cared for, said Iris Cardona, undersecretary of the Department of Health.

Cardona explained that, when they get to inoculate about 70% of the people planned in the first phase, they will go on to attend the educational staff, which is estimated at about 200,000 people; adults over the age of 65, who number about 400,000; and the first responders, who are like 160,000 individuals.

“We are moving as the plan was conceptualized. We are completing phase 1A. We have already exceeded 60% and we understand that in the coming weeks we have reached this magical number of 70% of health workers and we can move to phase 1B “, he argued.

Reis pointed out, for his part, that so far they have received 160,000 doses of the vaccines developed by the companies Moderna and Pfizer. Of these, 126,000 have been distributed and 71,000 have been administered. About 18,000 have received the second dose of these vaccines, the military said. Puerto Rico receives between 30,000 and 40,000 doses of vaccines weekly.

Of the 71,000 people who received the vaccine, only 11 adverse reactions were reported. None of these situations have been serious, the Health official said.

Luis Javier Hernández, executive of Villalba and president of the Association of Mayors, explained that, in addition to the identification with the staff of first necessity in the municipalities, they will be providing information on the older adults and the people lied to their towns so that they can be vaccinated with priority. The Association brings together mayors affiliated with the Democratic People’s Party.

He further argued that now that vaccination is entering a phase that covers a larger number of people many municipalities need to cooperate by lending their facilities so that they can serve as centers for inoculations.

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