Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
the Parliament of Honduras passed a law this Saturday to speed up the direct purchase of coronavirus vaccines SARS-CoV-2 through the Secretary of Health and the Honduran Institute of Social Security (IHSS).
The approval of the Free Vaccine Act occurred with dispensation of two debates in a virtual session of the National Congress and in the middle of the upward curve of contagions, which exceed 164,000, while the deaths are close to 4,000, according to the latest state report National Risk Management System (Sinager).
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The law passed by the deputies authorizes the Ministry of Health to acquire vaccines against covid-19 through the revolving vaccine fund of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), of mechanisms already established and “directly, without intermediaries and without subjection to the provisions set forth in the State Procurement Act, ”the legislature has indicated.
The health entity is also authorized to buy directly “the entire logistics, dispensary and supply chain necessary for the application of vaccine,” he added.
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“In these processes, priority must be given to the immediate availability of the vaccine in the shortest possible time and its availability in sufficient quantity for the entire population and to incorporate it into the National Vaccination Scheme through the Extended Program of Immunizations (PAI), “he explained.
The law also authorizes the IHSS to manage the acquisition of coronavirus vaccines, to ensure inoculation to all its members.
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All public institutions that acquire covid vaccines must ensure that “the first doses will be for the care of health workers, whether private or public, in accordance with the provisions of the vaccination guidelines issued by the Secretariat of Health “, stressed the Parliament. The Ministry of Health and the IHSS were also authorized to sign a cooperation agreement that would allow” the expansion and rapid coverage “of vaccination of relatives of insured and other vulnerable groups.
The acquisition of vaccines must be done in a “transparent manner,” and the process will be monitored and overseen by the High Court of Auditors (TSC).
All pharmacists or legal entities that provide vaccines to the IHSS and the Ministry of Health must have an emergency use authorization issued by the Health Regulation Agency (ARSA), to ensure health regulation based on scientific evidence. .
Several sectors have demanded that the arrival of the first vaccines in the country be speeded up, where the National Autonomous University of Honduras (UNAH) has recommended the purchase of the Russian vaccine Sputnik V.
The Russian vaccine, which has been approved as an emergency by 25 countries around the world, in addition to minimal side effects, requires a cold chain of 2 to 8 degrees Celsius, which is in line with the cold chain that handles the health system of the Central American nation.