In late 2019 and early 2020, the news of the spread of a new virus scared the entire world population because of the speed with which international organizations have warned that the virus is spreading.
In the absence of an immediate solution to stop the disease, all countries have decided to take drastic measures, including closure and strict mobility restrictions for citizens to control the transmission of the coronavirus, putting all hopes in a vaccine to end death. disease.
In October this year, the Dominican government signed an agreement with the British biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca to purchase 10 million doses of Covid-19 candidate vaccine, AZD1222, developed with Oxford University.
However, the American laboratory Pfizer, which works with the German biotechnology company Biontech, was the first to receive an approved vaccine that is already beginning to be placed in the United States and England.
Given the doubts of the Dominicans when it will arrive and which vaccine will be distributed in the country, President Luis Abinader assured that the Dominican Republic will be among the first to obtain the vaccine when it is available to other countries.
The president said the country is registered in all vaccines that are in the process.
“What can you be sure of that this is one of the countries that will receive the vaccine first, that we already have all the logistics ready, just waiting to be available for other countries,” said the head of state, who spoke after giving the first piezo of the Teleperformance call center extension works.
He said that “there are two vaccines in the process, which are those of Pfizer and AstraZeneca, we are registered in all … we are all there to serve you”.
He assured that the Ministry of Public Health has the logistics ready for how the vaccine will be distributed upon arrival in the country.
“The Ministry of Health already has the logistics ready, I will ask the (health) cabinet to hold a press conference to report all the logistics at the national level on how the vaccination will be done,” Abinader said. He said that only two countries have started the vaccine, which is the origin of these laboratories, but anyway, there are many of them that are still being confirmed by regulators.
President Abinader said that although the number of people infected with coronavirus has increased, the disease is still under control.
Increasing the number of cases
The President expressed that the measures that have been ordered by the Government are for prevention. “These measures are practically preventive, because we still have … because, although the infections have increased by a percentage, it is still under control, what we want is to avoid going back to normal”
He urged the public to work with the authorities and continue to comply with health measures to prevent the spread of the virus.
“That’s why we ask you … we know that these fences are ugly, at least we want them, we are the Armed Forces and the Police do not want to be on the streets, they are also tired, just like the Dominican population, but they come. … we are leaving and the Dominican people have made a great effort, what we ask of them is that we will make an extra effort to get out of this pandemic, which we will do next year, “he said.
A journalist asked the president if granting free transit on 24 and 31 until one o’clock in the morning will not bring conflicts between the police and drunks, to which the president replied “we are only talking about two days, it is 24 and 31 so that they can go to the family home to spend it with the family, but remember that it is always allowed to sell alcohol until 18:00.
He said that with this new provision, the Government seeks to enable families to share, but always with the necessary distance. “We ask you … why do we have to have that balance in which they can enjoy with their family, but at the same time we claim that there is that distance, we will try to reach that balance, I ask the Dominican people, in which we can have that balance that they can be, together with their loved ones, with their family, but at the same time with the necessary social distance “, he declared.
Global cases of Covid-19 rose to 72.5 million yesterday, after 359,000 infections were reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) in the last 24 hours, according to EFE.
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Thousands of lives
President Abinader said when the agreement was signed on October 30 that with the arrival of the vaccine, the country would save thousands of lives, being one of the first to receive it.
$ 8 million
While the vice president Raquel Peña said that the final investment is not available until the vaccine is approved, but that they have already pledged to make an appropriate first payment of US $ 8 million, “which is the great support we have received. from the private sector “.