Department of Health could receive the initial delivery of vaccines from the company Johnson & Johnson on Thursday or Friday, depending on when the federal authorities receive the request from the government.
The first transport, the director specified Vaccination program from the agency, Iris Cardona, amounts to 28,800 doses of this vaccine, whose immunization process does not require a second inoculation, unlike vaccines against Covid-19 of Pfizer Modern.
“If we ask them today or tomorrow, they would arrive on Thursday or Friday, and then the activities would be scheduled according to their arrival. We already have activities on the agenda with a few shelters for the homeless for next week. We also have on the agenda to complete the vaccination of some first responder groups that were missing in the framework phase 1-B, then move. We continue with the north and the interest of advancing in the vaccination of older adults and this presents a new alternative in the sense that you can have an impact on a community, you have vaccinated a large number of people and you do not have to return in three or four weeks “, A Cardona pointed out, reiterating that it is not yet known what the weekly flow of Johnson & Johnson vaccine deliveries will be after receiving the initial shipment.
The infectologist reminded that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, developed by his subsidiary Janssen, can be stored at refrigerator temperature, which will allow the delivery of doses directly to suppliers who do not have ultra-refrigerators such as those needed to store Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, at minus 80 and 20 degrees Celsius, respectively.
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The Johnson & Johnson vaccine, although refrigerated, has a shelf life of up to three months, although it is intended to be administered as soon as possible.
“There are some diseases defined by CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) which presents a higher risk of complications. Of these groups, we began vaccinating some patients, such as those on dialysis, who are among those most at risk of mortality from Covid. Then there are the patients against certain types of cancer, which are defined, and what we hope is that the patient will have the option to request the service from where he receives medical care or where he buys his medicines. This would be feasible once progress is made with the elderly, as we already have more pharmacies that will receive a fixed dose, “Cardona said, referring to population groups located in subphase 1-C of the vaccination process.
Subphase 1-B includes uninstitutionalized adults over the age of 65, a group of which approximately 400,000 people remain inoculated.
In the interview with Metro, Cardona stressed that the administrative order of the Department of Health that will define the groups eligible for vaccination will be issued between today and tomorrow.
Today, just Administrative order 480, which restricted the vaccination process to older adults and school staff since February 2.
The new order “was being evaluated by the Secretary (Carlos Mellado). The criteria are already there. If he shows up today or tomorrow, I can’t tell you, but I know he’s under the secretary’s evaluation. It will include that we can complete the vaccination of certain groups that have been put on hold (and) exercises for the homeless, even if they are not 65 years old, to do whatever is right, “said the former Undersecretary of Health.