This new batch is the first to be received by the country as part of the COVAX mechanism. These doses will allow second-line health personnel to be vaccinated, who are not directly related to Covid-19 patients.
Authorities from the Ministry of Health have received this afternoon another endowment of vaccines against COVID-19, which will be aimed at second-line health personnel, who do not directly treat patients with COVID-19.
El Salvador received the first batch of Astrazeneca vaccines on 17 February. I this new batch is the first the country receives as part of the COVAX mechanism.
The endowment of the drug, which contains 33,600 doses, arrived at the international airport where it was received by the Minister of Health, Francisco Alabi.
Besides: Minister of Health maintains secrecy on cost and logistics of vaccines against COVID-19
The Minister of Health was accompanied by the Minister of National Defense, René Merino Monroy; Mauricio Arriaza Noies, director of the PNC; PAHO representative Franklin Hernández and military adviser to the Military Health Command, Karla Edith Trigueros.
The distribution of the second batch of vaccines will be supervised by the Minister of Health, the PAHO representative in the country, Franklin Hernández, and the medical adviser of the Military Health Command, Karla Trigueros.
The vaccines were given under the World Health Organization (WHO) COVAX system, President Nayib Bukele reported on Wednesday.
On February 17, the government began vaccinating frontline personnel after receiving the first batch of antidote from India; 20,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine were purchased by the government directly from the Serum Institute, one of the largest vaccine manufacturers in the world.
Authorities shield themselves in a confidentiality clause with the pharmaceutical company for not giving details of the total value of the acquisition.
After the vaccination process began on February 17, Health Minister Franciso Alabi said that on March 3, they had applied “more than 20,000 vaccines to health personnel,” which contrasts with the amount of doses that the Government announced it had acquired.
The Ministry of Health aims to vaccinate 4.5 million Salvadorans. Older adults and people with chronic illnesses who are also considered to be at high risk of contracting the virus are still waiting to be vaccinated.
One year of quarantine declaration is fulfilled
On this day a year ago, President Bukele decreed a mandatory home quarantine for the entire territory to curb the spread of viruses, although at that time no contagion had yet been reported.
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The measure lasted for a little over two months and, according to various human rights organizations, during this time there were alleged violations of containment centers, “health circles”, led by the military and police, and they reported “deprivations of liberty” from citizens as “punishment” for allegedly skipping confinement.
The Bukele Executive also established at this time the suspension of classes throughout the country.