Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
In the coming months Honduras will begin receiving more vaccines against covid-19 to protect the rest of the health workers and at-risk groups.
With the announcement of the COVAX Mechanism that the country will receive between March and May 424,800 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, plus the negotiations that the country is closing with Russia to acquire 140,000 doses of Sputnik V vaccine, More than 564,000 doses of inoculators are expected to arrive in Honduras in the following months. This amount will be vaccinated in most eligible groups during the first phase of vaccination.
According to the Vaccine Introduction Plan against the covid-19 in the first phase is intended to vaccinate 297,150 Hondurans, among health workers, older adults in asylums and care centers, adults over 60 years with comorbidities, security personnel, relief service and the public employees of the powers of the State which give direct attention.
LEA: Honduran migrants in the US manage covid-19 vaccines for their country
The Minister of Health, Alba Consuelo Flors, has indicated that these doses will end the process and vaccinate the priority groups. “From the third week of March we will have a fairly sustained vaccination process in order to favor first the health staff and then the people in general who are medically fit to apply the vaccine,” he said. point out the official.
Arrival of doses
The minister recalled that the Government is also negotiating with other companies to buy more vaccines. He assured that in the coming days they will announce the closure of agreements with some pharmaceutical companies.
Ida Berenice Molina, head of the Comprehensive Immunization Program (PAI) of the Ministry of Health, informed LA PRESSA that the donation of COVAX will begin to be received from the third week of March. “It will be progressively, the first shipment of vaccines that we have been notified is 48,000 doses, we are waiting for tomorrow (today) we will receive the purchase order where we will specify the exact day that the vaccine will be being sent by PAHO, ”he detailed. Also, the week is expected to receive the COVAX calendar with the monthly delivery data that would complete the 424,800 dosess.
The first 48,000 doses are expected to be applied before the end of March, but the expiration date of the drug will be reviewed to decide whether a single dose is applied to the same number of people or whether half is saved for a second dose. .
|
Vaccine keys 1. Purchase and investment Government authorities have been reluctant to disclose how much money is being invested in buying vaccines, they have only referred to the fact that the necessary resources are being used to acquire them. They reported that about six million doses will be purchased. 2. Agreements with companies In recent days the Government has announced that agreements are being finalized with the pharmaceutical companies Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Moderna and the Sputnik V vaccine for them to reach the country; in the coming days there will be more news, authorities announced. 3. They manage vaccines The September 15 Foundation of Hondurans living in the United States together with the Honduran Medical College (CMH) and US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar manage the sending of covid-19 vaccines to the population in the face of the delay of the arrival of vaccines in the country |
“It would apply to health workers; we are waiting to receive the information because according to the expiration date of the vaccine technical decisions will be made, we can not risk applying the first dose and not ensure a second dose, we need to have the schedule and make sure we go for them to be received on a monthly basis, ”he explained.
The COVAX Mechanism will donate in the course of 2021, more than 3.8 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to immunize 1.9 million Hondurans.
In addition, by mid-March authorities expect the first batch of Russian Sputnik V vaccines to arrive, which consists of 70,000 doses, according to Chancellor Lisandro Rosales, a second delivery of the drug will be another 70,000 doses more forward, he pointed out the chancellor a few days ago.