Sitting in a wheelchair, Elizabeth takes a deep breath and closes her eyes as she receives the puncture in her left shoulder. At age 91, he is the first person in Costa Rica to be vaccinated against covid-19.
At the nursing home where she lives, a nurse patiently inoculates her with antibodies with the syringe. Elizabeth Castillo feels that the trance is over and opens her eyes. He wears an N95 mask, but his gestures reveal that he is smiling. Raise your hand. The medical staff applauds.
“I am very grateful to God, because I asked him a lot. My life is very important to me, take advantage of all the moments,” she says in a slow, thick voice.
The dose he received, manufactured by the American-German duo Pfizer / BioNTech, is one of the 9,750 that arrived in Costa Rica on Wednesday night, making it one of the first Latin American countries to receive this remedy, even on Good Night.
Next in turn is Jorge de Ford. Sitting on a sofa, after moving a few meters leaning on a walk, he rolled up his shirt to receive the substance.
“Vaccinate everyone. It didn’t hurt at all,” the 72-year-old exclaimed.
“This is the beginning of a path for the country to end the covid-19 pandemic,” said Costa Rican President Carlos Alvarado, who was present at a vaccination at a site of the Pro Personas Adultas Olores Foundation in San Ramón de the Tres Ríos, 12 km east of the capital, San José.
-Also, doctors-
In addition to Jorge and Elizabeth, a doctor and a nurse from the Specialized Center for the Care of Covid-19 Patients in the city center received the first dose.
The nurse who vaccinates internist José Acuña warns him that he may have symptoms similar to those of the flu, but that he should not be alarmed.
“It is a great honor to be among the first citizens to receive this vaccine. It is a huge effort to be one of the first countries with a vaccine and it will allow us to face what comes with more peace of mind,” says Acuña.
He says his daughters have lived in fear for their integrity for the past eight months, but when they learned that their father would be one of the first to be vaccinated, they exploded with joy. “The country has been waiting for this, the world has been waiting for this,” he added.
Like the rest of those vaccinated, in 21 days they should receive the second and last dose, necessary to obtain immunity. During the day, 11 health workers and a dozen elderly people were vaccinated.
This first batch is intended exclusively for health officials working in the front lines of the fight against the pandemic and the elderly.
The Central American country, with five million inhabitants, has an agreement to gradually receive 3 million vaccines from Pfizer that will cover 1.5 million people.
In addition, it already has agreements with AstraZeneca to vaccinate 500,000 people and with the WHO-sponsored Covax mechanism to serve 1 million citizens.
The outlook is that by the end of next year, three million people will be protected from the disease.
Costa Rica is expected to cover 80% of the population over the age of 18. Each week, new doses will arrive, and vaccination will be done according to the group scheme developed by the Social Security Fund of Costa Rica.
On Wednesday, Costa Rica accumulated 161,942 confirmed cases of covid-19 and 2,065 deaths. It keeps 634 people hospitalized and 239 of them in intensive care.
In recent days, the country has seen a resurgence of infections and has full space for critically ill patients.