Secretary of Health, Carlos Mellado, assured that Puerto Rico is one of the jurisdictions in the United States that administers vaccines more effectively Covid-19, by maintaining that over 80% of the doses received have already been distributed. This is despite the fact that yesterday it was confirmed that about 200 vaccines were lost.
According to the information provided by the official, 221,426 of the 270,050 vaccines received were distributed to vaccination centers on the island. As of yesterday, 136,682 vaccines had been administered, a higher number than those reported by Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), indicating that only 104,137 of the 311,325 that were “distributed” were used in Puerto Rico.
“I had conversations with HHS (Federal Department of Health) and the people of the CDC and establish that Puerto Rico is one of the first places, territories where vaccines are not stored. What we have in store is what arrived on Thursday for the second dose of the first phase. If you look at refrigerators from National Guard There are no vaccines, “Mellado told a news conference yesterday.
Based on CDC data and those provided separately from the territories, a Bloomberg media compilation places Puerto Rico as the jurisdiction with the tenth percent of vaccines administered, only above states such as North Carolina, Hawaii and Alabama. , as well as the territories of the Mariana Islands, American Samoa, Palau, the Virgin Islands, Micronesia and the Marshall Islands. In the compilation of the American press, the corresponding Puerto Rican data are the same that appear on the CDC website.
At this point, Department of Health it lacks a “dashboard” detailing the development of the vaccination process.
According to Bloomberg, North Dakota is the state that has administered its vaccines most effectively, after using 77.1% of those assigned to it. In the case of Puerto Rico, the figure is 50.6%, based on figures provided by Mellado.
Mellado noted that the nearly 50,000 vaccines that were not distributed in Puerto Rico are mainly attributed to the second dose of people who received the first at the end of December.
In recent weeks, both Mellado and Jose Reyes, the head of the National Guard, pointed out that the CDC reports the data late. Similarly, Mellado argued that the amount of vaccines that the CDC reports as being “distributed” to each jurisdiction includes doses that have not yet arrived.
The health secretary stressed that the possibility of Puerto Rico achieving the so-called immunity of the herd – which requires vaccination of at least 70% of the population – next summer will depend on the number of weekly doses the CDC allocates. In this regard, he alluded to the promise of the President-elect, Joe Biden, to dramatically liberalize the flow of vaccines, so it is expected that in early February the number of vaccines distributed weekly will significantly exceed the approximately 40,000 that currently arrive. Of this 40,000, 11,000 are for the Walgreens and CVS pharmacy chains, which deal with the vaccination of older adults in long-term care centers.
Former state epidemiologist Angeles RodriguezHowever, he was concerned about the risks that the Biden administration’s flexibility plan might pose, especially with regard to the possibility that there is not a sufficient amount to apply the second dose needed by each person who is immunized with the vaccine. Pfizer or Moderna.
“It simply came to our notice then. I want to believe that someone sensitive will recommend in time not to do this. The scientific evidence for these two vaccines shows that their success in protecting 94% or 95% of those vaccinated depends on the “booster” (second dose). If we do not give that second “booster”, we lose the first. After a while, the person will not have enough protection. It is a successful initiative. I hope that (the new federal administration) does not do it and, if they do it, because the vaccination depends on the states, Puerto Rico does not do it “, said the infectologist.
The second dose of Pfizer vaccine should be given within 21 days of the first, while in the case of Moderna the interval is 28 days.
Complicated return to face-to-face courses
Rodriguez also called for “rethinking” the aspiration to gradually reopen schools starting in March, the governor said. Pedro Pierluisi.
“Probably all the decisions that were based on obtaining security, in quotes, to be able to avoid contagion in classrooms, I think should be rethought. We are probably at a critical juncture. An extremely aggressive strain is circulating. If we do not want to collapse the health system, we must be very judicious in strictly following the recommendations to avoid transmission “, said Rodríguez, who considered that the government did an adequate job in the initial phase of vaccination.
According to Mellado, the vaccination process for teachers and non-teaching staff in public and private schools, which began this week, will take between “six to eight weeks”, which would mean ending between early and mid-March.
“The process of teachers and non-teachers, who are 55,000, between public and private, I understand not (it would be delayed by the slow flow of vaccines). The details will be in how many people, how many employees want to access the vaccine. The opening plan of the courses will depend on many factors. What we have always wanted to set is a specific goal. If we don’t have something as a goal, we will never be able to do it and (going back to school) depends on many factors and how we deal with Covid at that time, “Mellado said.
On the other hand, Mellado denied that the loss of 200 doses of Moderna in a vaccination center is part of a model in vaccine management in Puerto Rico. The secretary did not want to specify in which vaccination center the incident took place, beyond mentioning that it is a place that “does a very good job”. Mellado was not available to answer Metro’s questions, despite efforts this morning.
“What happened was that the person who received the vaccine box saw that there was melted ice. What he did was put the box in the fridge. When the CDC was consulted, the recommendation was not to use the vaccine. I need to make it clear that this is the only incident Puerto Rico has. There was a state that had up to 2,500 doses of loss, “Mellado said at a conference of the interior secretary in Fortaleza.
“These are things that can and have happened. The handling of this vaccine is extremely complicated. Even when the second dose comes, it has to be treated differently, “he added.