If he Department of Health wants to start vaccinating the next phase, which would include people with chronic conditions, should put an end to the current population of people aged 65 and over, the demographer said today, Saturday Raúl Figueroa Rodríguez.
According to Figueroa Rodríguez, at the time of this publication, there were still about 400,000 people without vaccination in this area.
There are still over 400,000 people over the age of 65 without being vaccinated for COVID-19 and they are talking about moving to the next stage.
– Raúl Figueroa (@rafigueroa) February 27, 2021
The demographer reacted in this way to the expressions issued yesterday by the appointed health secretary, Carlos Mellado Lopez, which provides that with the possible arrival of Johnson & Johnson, the next phases of vaccination could begin while Health continues with the current one.
The official also suggested that people from a younger population could be vaccinated in parallel to speed up the process.
“Now, with this vaccine from Janssen (Johnson & Johnson), we can move to a younger population. We also need to go back to the first responders and start vaccinating AMA bus drivers, ”Mellado López said yesterday during a press conference at the San Juan Department of Health.
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“There are still many elderly people who find it difficult to make vaccine appointments“, Figueroa Rodríguez expressed in an interview Puerto Rico Metro.
“I know a new vaccine is coming, but why not continue with the phase we are in and continue with them?” He continued.
One of the major differences is the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, the use of which was approved yesterday by the Food and Drug Administration of the United States (FDA, for its acronym in English), is that it can be kept at room temperature and requires only the administration of a dose by humans.
Today, the FDA leadership could decide whether to approve the emergency use of this vaccine, which could mean that Salud will distribute it as soon as possible next week, as Mellado López explained yesterday.
Despite this, the demographer understands that Health should further explain whether the Johnson & Johnson vaccine would simplify the logistics of vaccination in Puerto Rico and what efforts it will make to complete the current phase.
“It would be good if he explained it. Maybe I don’t know if Johnson & Johnson’s are recommended for the elderly. The problem is that few vaccines are given for weeks. Until this increases, it will take longer,” he said. he. . “At the stage of vaccination we are in, there are a few weeks until the end of this stage. It would be inappropriate to start with another if there are still many still unvaccinated.”
According to data released yesterday by the Department of Health, approximately 486,405 doses have been administered in Puerto Rico, and of these, 172,492 are people who have already received both doses.