Tegucigalpa, Honduras
A nurse, who contracted covid-19 in 2020, and an internist, were the first two Hondurans to be vaccinated against the deadly disease on Thursday, just hours after 5,000 doses sent by Israel arrived in Tegucigalpa.
This is the assistant nurse Soraya Ortega and Dr. Nolvin Guifarro, who were vaccinated at a medical center in Tegucigalpa, at an event attended by Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, accompanied by the heads of Health, Alba Consuelo Flores, and Foreign Affairs, Lisandro Rosales, among other officials.
HERNÁNDEZ ANNOUNCES ARRIVAL OF 4 MILLION DOSES
The Honduran ruler reiterated his gratitude to the people and Government of Israel for the donation, which will immunize 2,500 people in the health system who are at the forefront of the fight against covid-19.
Hernandez said getting the first vaccines “has not been easy” because “it’s a race between countries that have money and those of us who are fighters.”
He added that he is for close a deal for the purchase of four million doses, plus others expected to arrive between March and June to protect all Hondurans.
per immunize 20 percent of the population of Honduras, a country with a population of 9.5 million, is expected to receive free vaccines under the COVAX mechanism by the end of March, promoted by the World and Pan American Health Organizations. (WHO / PAHO).
The vaccines, from the Modern Pharmaceutical, which arrived this Thursday will be applied to medical staff from hospitals in Tegucigalpa, San Pedro Sula, Santa Rosa de Copán and Choluteca, in the center, north, west and south of the country.
the immunization it does not cover children under 18, nor pregnant women, health authorities have reiterated.
VACCINED NURSE SUFFERING FROM DIABETES AND HYPERTENSION
The first nurse vaccinated on Thursday said that in addition to having contracted covid-19 in May 2020, she suffers from diabetes, hypertension and is diabetic, underlying illnesses that pose a higher risk to people who contract the disease.
Excited, Soraya Ortega has indicated that “with my heart in my hand I tell them that I was waiting for this vaccine”, because “I needed it”.
Ortega thanked President Hernandez for managing the vaccines with Israel, a country that also sent him 5,000 doses to Guatemala, which came on the presidential plane from Honduras.
Dr. Nolvin Guifarro recounted how painful it has been for him to see patients die in hospital wards and intensive care units due to covid-19.
He added that given the high incidence of covid-19 cases in Honduras, which has accumulated more than 4,000 deaths and around 167,500 infections, he feared he would become ill with it. EFE