The first case in Puerto Rico of a variant of VOCID-19 was confirmed and it is a woman about 50 years old who is hospitalized.
This was reported on Tuesday by Governor Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia alongside Secretary of Health Carlos Mellado.
The woman was reportedly arrived on the island in mid-January on a flight from Europe that made a stopover in the United States. The same, although she is hospitalized in an institution in the metropolitan area, has not suffered any complications and has been responding to treatment.
Mellado clarified that an analysis of the patient’s environment was made and it was determined that there was no “significant” increase in cases among it. However, two people close to the patient tested positive for COVID-19 and are expected for the result of specific tests to determine if it is the same strain.
The Health Secretary said the variant was flagged as the B117, first identified in the UK.
On the other hand, Pierluisi justified the disparity between the numbers offered by the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) and the Department of Health (DS) on the vaccination process on the island. The governor indicated that among the reasons for the difference in numbers is that the DS does not immediately report vaccines processed by other entities such as the Veterans Hospital and pharmacies.
He indicated that 544,200 doses of the coronavirus vaccine had been received on the island, of which 399,711 had been administered. Also, between 90,000-94,000 doses of available vaccines arrive in Puerto Rico weekly.