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Published Monday, March 15, 2021
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
Since the beginning of the vaccination campaign against covid-19 in December 2020, there have been 1,653 cases of people suffering side effects from the Pfizer vaccine, according to the Ministry of Health.
In Oct. 2020, the government signed an agreement for the purchase of three million doses.
This morning, President Carlos Alvarado confirmed the purchase of one million additional doses from Pfizer/BioNTech. Now, the country will receive 4 million doses to apply the treatment to two million million people.
"We seek to speed up the vaccination process with the priority groups (referring to the Groups of High Risk), " Alvarado said. "We are working to advance in all regions, because the vaccine saves lives and is a powerful tool to an economic recovery."
According to the authorities, the cases were reported between Dec. 24, 2020 to Feb. 28, 2021 a period in which 150,000 doses of vaccines were applied.
Of the total number of patients in the same period, 1,608 cases have been already analyzed, according to the data provided by the National Center for Pharmacy-Vigilance.
However, these people with side effects represented only 0.67% of all people vaccinated against the virus, of which 73% are women and 42% men.
The reported side effects are headache, local pain in the vaccination area, tiredness, fever, chills, skin rash and muscle aches.
Also, there was one case of an allergic reaction that continues to be investigated. And three cases of unusual reactions.
One case of a patient who presented myocarditis (inflammation of the heart) was classified as probable given the potential relationship between the symptom and vaccine application.
The second patient reported phlebitis (inflammation of the veins) which was classified as possible, since it may be due to other factors or drugs consumed by the patient.
And in the third case, a Guillain-Barré syndrome was reported, which was classified as conditional, due to the pathologies presented by the patient that could trigger the condition.
Guillain-Barré syndrome, GBS, is a rapid-onset muscle weakness caused by the immune system damaging the peripheral nervous system. Typically, the initial symptoms are changes in sensation or pain often in the back along with muscle weakness, beginning in the feet and hands, often spreading to the arms and upper body.
The patients who presented myocarditis and phlebitis are fully recovered, however, the patient who presented Guillain-Barré is in stable health condition, authorities said.
The inoculating continues with the Group-A of High Risk, which includes elderly folks living in nursing homes, nursing home employees, healthcare workers, members of the police force, firefighters and National Commission Emergency workers, among others.
And also the Group-B of High Risk, which includes people over the age of 58, regardless of whether or not they have any pre-existing health risk factors.
To receive the treatment, participants must have a Costa Rican ID or a residency ID, known as DIMEX specific for immigrants with resident status.
On Friday, the Ministry of Health provided the most up-to-date status of covid-19 in the country:
• 472,875 doses of covid-19 vaccines purchased from the pharmaceutical company Pfizer / BioNTech.
• Of these 248, 082 doses have been applied. Reaching a national vaccination rate of 4.8 per 100 inhabitants.
• 376 new covid-19 cases are reported, bringing the total to 17,264 current active cases.
• 25,791 foreign-born people have been infected as part of the 209,093 cases since March 2020. That is approximately 12.33% of the total cases. Of these, authorities confirmed the death of 32 foreign-born patients. But since October, there is no updated information about foreign-born deaths due to covid-19.
• 241 patients are being treated in public hospitals, where 127 patients are in ICUs in delicate health conditions. And 114 patients are in recovery rooms. Many of the remaining infected patients are quarantined in their homes.
• 188,967 patients have fully recovered, a 91% recovery rate.
• 729,069 covid-19 tests have been conducted in Costa Rica since March, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering of Johns Hopkins University in the U.S.
• 2,862 deaths are listed as covid-19 related, approximately 1.4% death rate.
Readers can see the current number of infected people in each district on the National Distance Education University on its Covid-19 Map.
According to Johns Hopkins University, the pandemic has killed more than 2.6 million people worldwide.
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How is the vaccination campaign against covid-19 advancing in your home country? We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com
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