Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
The countdown to the arrival of the covid-19 vaccine in the country has already begun, after President Juan Orlando Hernández announced that the first doses will arrive in the second half of February.
It could be between 400,000 and 800,000 doses that will come in the first delivery through the Covax mechanism of the World Health Organization (WHO); These vaccines are part of the donation that will be made to immunize 20% of the population (1.9 million Hondurans).
Through his Twitter account, Hernández reported that the vaccination plan has already been activated.
“We are ready to put all the vaccination equipment and the distribution and application chain all over the country! As soon as they are in the country, our front-line staff, elderly adults, people with chronic diseases, will start to be vaccinated “, the president wrote in another publication.
LEA: JOH: “We will vaccinate 1.9 million Hondurans in February”
In the national chain, the president recalled that, in addition to the donated vaccines, he had already provided with the contributions of the state and members of the Honduran Institute of Social Security (IHSS) the vaccine for its beneficiaries, which was to arrive in the country on April 21. “On the other hand, we already have enough funds to buy vaccines for the rest of the medically eligible Hondurans, according to the WHO. In this way, we realize what experts call the immunity of the herd that will allow us to reactivate the economy “, he indicated.
The vaccine that will reach the country will be from the pharmaceutical company Astrazeneca and the University of Oxford, which has an efficiency between 62% and 90% and is applied in several countries, he announced. Deputy Minister of Health Nery Cerrato.
The advantage of the arrival of this vaccine is that the country has refrigerators to store it at a temperature of between +2 and +8 degrees Celsius, what is required. “We have a cold chain distributed throughout the country and all health regions, hospitals and health centers will be delivered; Even the smallest health centers will be able to have the vaccine, “the official said.
Now that the country has received confirmation from the Covax mechanism as to when the vaccine will arrive, Cerrato has indicated that it will begin training staff for the distribution and application of doses, it will be a distribution like the one made with other vaccines. , he explained.
Upon arrival of the drug, distribution will begin in the 18 departments, the process could take up to three days. Cerrato said it could start applying in March. “We are two weeks away from arrival, these 15 days will allow us to do all the processes testing what we will do.
In all regions there will be planning meetings, thermos, refrigerators, regional warehouses will be reviewed, we will identify any problems there to correct it. It is expected that, in the conditions we have, if we receive it in the second half of February, in March we will be able to start the process of mass vaccination “, he explained.
Vaccination
The doses that will arrive in the country will allow the implementation of the first phase of vaccination in which the aim is to inoculate health workers, older adults concentrated in nursing homes, adults over 60 years with one or more comorbidities and first aid staff. and security, personnel of the state powers and the diplomatic corps, represent a total of 297,150 people, according to the Plan for the introduction of the vaccine against Covid-19, in which THE PRESS had access.
The secretariat identified the medical staff from the 18 departments. The plan sets the goal of vaccinating 80,000 health workers, but as of November 30, the Secretariat had registered 43,246 workers, including doctors, nurses, laboratory technicians, Radiography, microbiologists, among others; of which 35,368 are workers from the Ministry of Health, 6,734 from the Honduran Institute of Social Security (IHSS) and 1,144 working in the private sector.
33% of them are staff working in Francisco Morazán, 16% in Cortés, the others are located in the remaining 16 departments. At the end of the inoculation of those leading the pandemic, the process will continue with adults over 60 years. However, the German Vaccine Commission has recommended that the vaccine developed by Astrazeneca and the University of Oxford not be given to people over the age of 65 because there are not enough data on the effectiveness of the medicine for that age group.
In Honduras it is still uncertain whether Secretary of Health will vaccinate people over the age of 65, the head of this agency, Alba Consuelo Flores, said he will see the studies of international regulators to make a decision.
The minister said that the vaccination process will be part of the solution to this health crisis, but the population must continue to maintain biosecurity measures, such as the use of a mask, hand washing and distancing.
Yolani Batres, representative of Honduras before The Covax mechanism, told the press, that in the coming days the WHO will grant emergency permission to Aztrazeneca and “it will be the WHO that will indicate the groups and ages of people who can be vaccinated.”
Edwin Herrera, a geneticist and member of the Covid-19 research group in Honduras, advised authorities to wait to see if the vaccine has any effect on older adults. “Germany has banned vaccination, they have their reasons, but the UK vaccinates them, which I suggest is to see how the vaccine behaves in the UK if there is a negative effect on the population.”