Thousands of additional COVID-19 vaccines are arriving

Designated Secretary of the Department of Health, physician Carlos Mellado, reported today that an additional 6,000 vaccines will arrive each week and several pharmacy chains will also join the vaccination effort against COVID-19 and urged people over 65 to wait to be contacted to receive their turn. their.

As the secretary announced, the pharmacy chain Walgreens, CVS, Walmart, Sam’s and Amigo have already started participating in vaccination and are expected to continue in the next few weeks. In addition, as more vaccines become available, they will add about 30 community pharmacies.

“We continue the effort to vaccinate patients over the age of 65. And I did it. We are in a good situation for Puerto Rico right now. We get better every day and I really feel good about what’s going on, “Mellado said.

He assured that starting today, Friday, 101,967 adults over the age of 65, 38,561 teachers, 2,939 people with beds, 1,926 people with intellectual disabilities were vaccinated. He added that 267,050 first doses and another 114,307 doses had been delivered.

He explained that as part of the vaccination efforts in cities, known as vacutour, they will be tomorrow Saturday in Cataño, Vega Baja, Carolina and Loíza, with 1,000 vaccines in each of the points. He added that the vacutour will be later in Coamo, Maricao, Orocovis, until the continuation through all the municipalities, “following the line of contagions, number one; number two, number of the elderly; and number three, access. And we will follow that specific line. “

Meanwhile, massive testing activities, known as Coviveo in Humacao, Guayanilla and Moca, will take place tomorrow.

“We will visit all the cities, we will do activities to vaccinate more people and we will fulfill the goal we have,” he insisted.

Regarding the participation of pharmacy chains, he explained that Walgreens has already started today, with 10,700 vaccines per week, which will be distributed in 103 stores throughout the island. CVS will start next week (2,000 vaccines in the Fajardo store), Costco and Walmart (4,000 photos, 25 stores). Walgreens has already vaccinated 37,911 patients with long-term care.

Dr. Mellado He urged the population to be patient and assured that everyone will be vaccinated. In particular, he addressed people over the age of 65 and assured that “they do not have to queue”, as they will be contacted by the Department of Health or a participating pharmacy to grant them a change and that they can be vaccinated.

He reiterated his call for calm and recalled that the group over 65 is a population of about 600,000 people and therefore it will take time to vaccinate them all.

“We want people to be calm, we want them to know that the vaccine will reach them,” Mellado reiterated. But they need to understand that the number of vaccines is limited and that vaccination is done by the number of people with the highest incidence. And I didn’t invent that, it’s a normal vaccination process. “

“These changes will reach the patient at home, either by mail or by calling him. Therefore, the patient should not enter any page, he should not call anywhere. It will simply be his turn “, he explained. But there are more than 600,000 65-year-old patients in Puerto Rico. Therefore, the exhortation and communication from me will be calm. The vaccine will arrive, the vaccine will not end. The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) intends to continue to send vaccine after vaccine until all people in the states, territories and Puerto Rico are vaccinated. ”

In another matter, the doctor commented that DS has given instructions to the Department of Education that every school that will open will have to follow. He explained that these guidelines are based on guidelines provided for this purpose by the CDC, which have been improved with local tools such as the bioportal and the tracking system. He added that DS will inspect the schools to ensure that they comply with these protocols and will also keep an eye on them. However, he clarified that the decision to open a school rests with the Department of Education.

Beyond being a matter of public policy, Mellado defended the resumption of classes in person for “a number of other health reasons,” such as nutrition, immunization beyond COVID-19, dental care, and the fact that countless pediatricians and psychologists “say that children need to interact.”

Regarding the vaccination of health professionals, the doctor indicated that those health professionals who have not been vaccinated for any reason, can continue to do so. He recalled that already in the first phase of vaccination, 110,000 health professionals had been vaccinated.

“They have access to the vaccine. It doesn’t mean we’ve already closed that phase. Any health professional who is still missing and decides to get vaccinated, of course we need to protect him, “he said.