The Secretary of the Department of Health, Carlos Mellado López, reported that, starting tomorrow, Thursday, the six vaccination centers of the National Guard will attend to older adults in an effort to increase vaccination of the most vulnerable population of the society .
To date, 52,000 people over the age of 65 have been vaccinated in a population that is estimated to fluctuate between 600 and 800,000 people.
As part of the vaccination logistics, today, a prominent staff will be quoting the first 300 people in each of the six centers through the shift platform contracted by Health. Patients will be contacted randomly, taking into account age. Those mentioned must present an identification with a photograph, passport or birth certificate that validates their identity and date of birth.
“The priority is as clear as the instruction I gave last Monday. All health care providers who receive vaccines should be vaccinating only the population over the age of 65. We need them to help us in this process, which involves time for the amount of vaccine available and the complexity of this population. Let no one doubt that we are looking for all possible tools to facilitate the process, “said El Mellado.
According to headline, they will be using a database of the federal health insurance program that contains the vast majority of the population they will be serving. After the four (4) weeks that have separated to attend to this population, they will be informing the steps to follow for those who have not been contacted at the end of the period provided. The centers will operate from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. from this Thursday, Feb. 4 through Saturday, Feb. 6. Then, the inoculation will remain from Monday to Friday at the same time.
“We have managed to join forces with other providers to receive the information that supports us to quote our older adults. I am convinced that with this effort, we will be able to move forward in the process of achieving the collective immunity we want to achieve,” he said. said Mellado Lopez.
The new measures respond to the Administrative Order 2021-480 recently signed by the Secretary of Health. He also assured that he will guarantee the second dose to health professionals and emergency transponders, who will have to go to the date that appears on the vaccination card.
The six vaccination centers of the National Guard are located in the Center of Belles de Caguas; the Palace of Recreation and Sports, in Mayaguez; the Rubén Rodríguez Coliseum, in Bayamón; Coliseu Petaca Iguina, in Arecibo; the Fair Complex, in Ponce; and the Pedrín Zorilla Coliseum, in Sant Joan.
The doctor recalled that the residents of Vieques and Culebra were vaccinated in mid-January.
On the other hand, Mellado López has indicated that the vaccination of teachers continues in the eight (8) centers; the coliseum Manuel “Petaca” Iguina, in Arecibo; Center of Integral Health of the Mountain, in Comerío; Family Health Center of Arroyo and Guayama, in Stream; Council of Integral Health of Loíza, in Loíza and in the Fair Complex, in Ponce.