Faced with complaints from people this morning after arriving in the morning to line up for the vaccination of their second dose and run into the cancellation of the process, the assistant general of the National Guard, José Reyes confirmed that the scheduled shipments of the second dose are not arriving, so they are having to cancel appointments and reschedule them.
“Shipments that are coming to Puerto Rico are not coming as scheduled,” said Reis, who argued that production by Moderna and Pfizer is not going at the expected pace.
“Today we start with a limited amount of second doses. It was expected yesterday Monday that a dose shipment would arrive in Puerto Rico to refuel. It did not arrive, it is scheduled to arrive today. People who were already scheduled, are being given a appointment for the next 24 to 48 hours “, detailed Reis in a radio interview (WKAQ580).
The Assistant General of the National Guard asked people not to despair because scientists have explained that if you get the second dose in 28 days this dose … The CDC has said that up to 42 days, basically 6 weeks “.
Reis indicated that in the National Guard vaccination centers if the number of vaccines is exhausted, they ask people not to leave the ranks because they will schedule new appointments in a period of 24 to 48 hours.
The official detailed that they receive between 75 and 80,000 doses of vaccines weekly between the first and second doses. He could not immediately provide a breakdown of how they have been vaccinating between first and second doses. Reis indicated that Moderna has been increasing the doses they produce, so that Puerto Rico now receives about 50,000 first-dose vaccines a week.
Reyes later provided WKAQ580 with the following vaccine data:
- 544,825 vaccines received in Puerto Rico
- 481,005 vaccines distributed to suppliers
- 325,714 vaccines administered to date
On the delivery they were waiting for yesterday, the official said they expect this shipment of vaccines to arrive on the Island today.
Police, firefighters and other first responders have reported that the process for the second dose has been chaotic, as it has been characterized by extensive queues starting from early in the morning.