At hours that the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a new guide that opens the door to people vaccinated against it Covid-19 discard the use of masks even when sharing indoors, the designated Secretary of Health, Carlos Mellado, Was not categorical about the position of local government in the face of the announcement of a new executive order this week.
Mellado did establish that, from his individual perspective, he believes that the use of masks should continue to be widespread.
“I don’t want (the CDC guide) to be a subterfuge or incentive to stop using the mask. By the time we are vaccinated we should continue to use the mask because it is the strategy to protect people. that they are not vaccinated until we achieve herd immunity, ”Mellado raised.
The head of Health stressed that, although the CDC’s recommendation refers to groups of people in whom each individual completed the vaccination cycle, in practice it is unlikely to be certain that this happens in a given space.
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While it is true that vaccinated people have a very low probability of exhibiting any symptoms if they become infected, there is no certainty about the risk of transmission it poses to people they come in contact with. close.
Mellado, however, hesitated when asked what recommendation he would offer to governor Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia, Who plans to announce a new executive order this Thursday to replace the decree that expires this Sunday.
“We follow the specific guidelines. What I wanted to emphasize is that the education process must continue. Let’s express ourselves in this regard, remember that this news has just arrived us entering through the door. From my point in view this can be confusing.We are going to analyze it.If we are all vaccinated it is very unlikely that anyone can (get sick) .The use of the mask, as I do not have a tattoo that says ‘I have vaccine’, no sabré […] Under this premise, if they ask me, I would wear the mask. We will analyze this and some protocols will be generated that we will make public, “said Mellado.
Will the government not necessarily follow the CDC’s guidelines in this case ?, he insisted Subway.
“We have to analyze it because it’s only an hour ago (we found out). That’s why there are epidemiologists, doctors, everyone, to decide what we’re going to do,” the doctor replied.
Mellado ultimately agreed that the government will have to keep the “cantaloupe” in place for the public to continue practicing precautionary measures, including the use of masks in public places.
“If tomorrow we say that Vieques and Culebra do not use masks (because a high proportion of their adult population will have been vaccinated) the answer is no. Until there is a single hospitalized patient of Covid here we will continue to use masks so be it vaccinated everyone. This is the position of the Department of Health, “Mellado said.
In Puerto Rico, at the time, the administration of 567,813 vaccines was registered, of which 356,436 correspond to the first dose and 211,377 to the second dose.
Mellado and the assistant general of the National Guard, José Reyes, Have stressed that this week would begin the second phase of vaccination for the population of the islands municipality of Vieques and Culebra.
The military detailed that, during the first phase, 3,800 people were vaccinated in Vieques, while another 4,600 would receive the first dose this week. In the case of Culebra, in the first round 1,200 people were inoculated, so that there are still another 400 inhabitants who would begin their cycle these days.