Starting tomorrow, Monday, almost everyone will have access to vaccination in Puerto Rico, as part of the new health strategy aimed at protecting the youngest population of the island.
To this end, the Department of Health (DS) has activated the website www.protegetevacunate.com, where citizens aged 16 and over will be able to get a vaccination meeting, depending on the availability of the weekly vaccines they receive in Puerto Rico, with to advance community immunity.
“The vaccination process has been a priority and we have focused on accelerating inoculation on the island. In four months, we will integrate the entire population. It is an achievement we celebrate and we are confident that we will move forward every day to achieve the desired immunity.” , said the Secretary of Health, Carlos Mellado López, in a written statement, after emphasizing that the process continues to be orderly and will advance according to the volume of doses received until the population remains to be inoculated, which according to the estimate amounts to 2.7 million people.
The process for obtaining an appointment is simple, once on the page that activated DS, you have to choose the population they belong to, enter the license number, date of birth, name, email address and phone number to complete the registration.
The page gives you the option to select the date you want to receive the vaccine and gives you the availability, given the age-appropriate provider and vaccine. The system will send you a confirmation number along with the meeting information via email and text message provided.
People who have difficulties will receive assistance from the platform through the “Help” button. Also, people who do not have a license number or email, which are essential for the registration process, should request assistance on the same button.
According to Mellado López, the vaccination rate was very good. “More than 1.5 million doses have been administered through authorized healthcare providers. At this moment we have reached 42% of the population with at least one dose and we have vaccinated 17% of the population with the two doses ”.
This week, Puerto Rico expects to receive 49,800 doses from Pfizer, 34,200 from Moderna and 6,100 from Janssen, for a total of 136,500. This transport of vaccines is received between Tuesday and Thursday (this week) and is distributed to health care providers. However, the vaccines that arrived between Thursday and Friday last week will be distributed as follows: 6,950 doses of Moderna with 20 suppliers, 17,316 doses of Pfizer with 56 suppliers and another 8,100 doses that 17 suppliers receive directly.
In addition, there are vaccines that go directly to pharmacies under the federal retail pharmacy program. Walgreens pharmacies receive over 60,000 doses, CVS Pharmacy 10,000 doses, Costco 2,000 doses and cardinals 10,000 doses. Similarly, Walmart, Amigo and Sams pharmacies allocated 10,000 doses between the first and second. Through the cyber portal of each chain, citizens will also be able to get a vaccination meeting. In the case of Walmart, coordination is done by phone call.
Young people between the ages of 16 and 17 can only receive the Pfizer vaccine, as authorized by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Minors under the age of 21 must be accompanied by their authorized father, mother or guardian. Web portals will consider age and vaccine to coordinate programming.
The Head of Health asked the citizens to continue the health and safety protocols against the virus. “We must be disciplined. The use of a mask is not optional, it is mandatory. In addition to keeping your distance, avoiding congestion and maintaining good hygiene. The vaccine is certainly a protection, but we must continue to take care of ourselves to stop the contagion of the community. The job of protecting us belongs to everyone, “said Mellado López.
On the other hand, the Secretary of Health specified that pharmacies and vaccination centers, while operating, are excluded from compliance with the coverage provided for in Administrative Order 2021-491 signed on April 9.