The mayor of Villalba and the new president of the Association of Mayors of Puerto Rico, Luis Javier Hernández, have called on the secretary of health, Dr. Lorenzo González and the adjutant general of the National Guard of Puerto Rico, General Reyes, to integrate community pharmacies against Covid-19, a cooperation initiative that has not yet been carried out.
“In the spirit of contributing to this process, we held several telephone meetings and confirmed the availability of community pharmacies and members of the College of Pharmacists to be part of the vaccination process. Given that the goal of health is to vaccinate as many citizens as possible, with community pharmacies we have a perfect vehicle for this. There is one or more in every city in Puerto Rico “, the lawyer also explained.
Hernández also said that staff working in community pharmacies know the needs of the neighborhoods they serve and can help in particular to help people who are in bed or have mobility problems. “We see positively that the Health and the National Guard have concluded agreements with multinational pharmacy chains, but we understand that, given the need to vaccinate as many people as possible, we must rely on community pharmacies to expand the scope. That is our recommendation. “
Similarly, staff working in these facilities should have priority in the vaccination process. “There are health personnel, pharmacists, logistical assistance and direct care for people with special health conditions and treatments and they should also be vaccinated as soon as possible,” the mayor added. The Community Pharmacy Association is a non-profit organization whose origins date back to 1952 and there are currently approximately 800 such pharmacies throughout Puerto Rico.