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The National Guard of Puerto Rico intends to launch a naming system for the operation of regional vaccination centers against COVID-19 throughout the island, which would be released in the second location of this type in the Centro de Bellas Artes de Caguas. .
The opening of this center would take place tomorrow, Tuesday or Wednesday, said the adjutant general of the National Guard, José Reyes.
“We are preparing the facilities for the opening. We are also developing a meeting system, we are in the final stages to be able to announce it and make sure we start tomorrow., Reyes said in an interview with The new day.
For the appointment system, the adjutant general said that the National Guard is in communication with the College of Surgeons of Puerto Rico, given that this entity has an electronic registration of its members. In the case of Caguas, the plan so far is to appoint about 40 people per hour. For the operation, there will be between ten and 12 vaccination stations.
The goal, Reyes explained, is “Be more efficient (in operation), it’s more fluid and not so boring for people”. He said he was trying to prevent vaccinated participants from spending the night the night before at the center to ensure a change in vaccination that day.
The projection of the National Guard is that the appointment system works through an application in process, although it is expected to be ready in the coming days. This application would be used in the 11 vaccination centers that the National Guard will open throughout the island.
Apart from the Caguas, the regional vaccination center is expected to begin operations this week at the Manuel “Petaca” Iguina Colosseum in Arecibo, where members of the National Guard are today as part of preparations for the site. “There was a situation with the air conditioning system in the coliseum, we hope that this situation will be corrected,” Reyes said.
The official said that the process of empowering the 11 centers could be extended until January 15. “The number of centers we will open is dictated by the flow of vaccine inventory,” he said. The opening of the center in Ponce is scheduled for next week.
“We have already visited Aguadilla, Mayagüez, Humacao and Barranquitas, which would be the next four centers,” said the assistant general. In addition to those mentioned, there will be centers in Fajardo, Guayama and Bayamón.
Vaccines are growing in San Juan
Regarding the vaccination center at the Coliseíto Pedrín Zorrilla in San Juan, Reyes reported that he had again adjusted the daily vaccination limit to 800, starting tomorrow. Today and in the past days, an approximate limit of 650 was used.
In San Juan, the main complaint was that people to be vaccinated even had to stay overnight in some cases the night before to ensure a change in vaccination. According to the assistant general, one of the reasons behind the long lines is that people continue to arrive from different parts of the island, although the focus at this stage is with health professionals in San Juan and surrounding cities.
“Downtown San Juan is not for Ponce, people come from all over the island”Reyes said, calling on people to wait for centers in their area to open instead of reaching San Juan. He also reiterated that a subsequent change is granted to people who are in the line of vehicles and who cannot enter when the day limit is reached, but that many do not participate the next day, despite the fact that they have an appointment.
“Of the 200 (with yesterday’s change today), 108 have arrived. If you make an appointment or have made a change, use it,” Reyes said.
Meanwhile, at the facilities of the National Guard in Old San Juan, the troops today train about 60 volunteer students from medical schools in the country, who will provide support in the administration of the vaccine in various centers. In total, so far, the official has indicated that about 120 students are enrolled. There will also be a training session on Wednesday.
On the other hand, the National Guard confirmed that today it distributed 21,400 doses of Pfizer vaccine to the 65 hospitals on the island, in order to complete the vaccination phase of their staff. Once this stage is completed, the hospital’s institutions would continue to support the National Guard in vaccinating health professionals working outside hospitals.