  Authorities expect the arrival of total 154,050 doses this month. - Casa Presidencial photo - |
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 Published Thursday, January 14, 2021 87,000-plus
vaccines against covid-19
have arrived since December By the A.M. Costa Rica staff A new shipment arrived on Tuesday with 33,150 doses purchased from Pfizer-BioNTech, as part of the 3 million doses valued at $36 million. This recent shipment, together with the vaccines delivered last December, total 87,750 doses. All these doses are being distributed in the country as part of the vaccination campaign. Authorities expect the arrival of total 154,050 doses before the end of January. That will allow 77,025 people to get two doses each, approximately 1.5% of the country's population. The vaccines arrived on a DHL flight, kept in freezers at a temperature of minus 70 degrees, which is maintained during the transfer until they are disposed of in another freezer in the Social Security warehouses, where they will be kept while the distribution is made to the hospitals and clinics. "This result is not free, this is the product of the path that we have set months ago, considering vaccination the most important tool for, in addition to preserving public health, promoting the economic recovery of Costa Rica," President Carlos Alvarado said.  The first group of pre-selected people continue getting inoculated as more vaccines arrive into the country. This group includes health workers, elderly people living in nursing homes, nursing home staff, firefighters, policemen, and workers of the National Emergency Commission, the health authorities said. When this group is completed, the second group will begin their treatment. This group includes people over the age of 58, regardless of whether or not they have any pre-existing health conditions. The authorities modified the vaccination plan for this group of people, starting with adults 80 years and older and then covering the rest of the candidates to be vaccinated. According to Roberto Arroba, secretary of the National Vaccination Commission, the goal is to start vaccinating those over the age of 80 in the second group and then continue with the rest of the people over 58 years of age. Authorities estimate that vaccinations for people in the second group could start after April. To receive the treatment, participants must have a Costa Rican ID for natives or a residency ID, known as DIMEX specific for immigrants with resident status. For the moment, the vaccines are only available at public hospitals. Private hospitals, clinics or pharmacies, according to the biotechnology company Pfizer, will not receive any production or distribution of their vaccine. Their priority is to meet the demand made by the health authorities worldwide, due to the crisis of global health caused by the pandemic. Once the demand from the public space settles, Pfizer will develop a plan to supply treatment to private medical centers around the world. There is no date or estimated time as to when Pfizer will provide vaccines for the private sector. While the vaccination campaign continues, the covid-19 virus advances quickly throughout the country, according to the latest statistics provided by the Ministry of Health on Wednesday: 1,063 new covid-19 cases are reported, bringing the total to 39,805 current active cases. 22,980 foreign-born people have been infected, totaling 182,156 cases since March, approximately 12.6% 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. 578 patients are being treated in public hospitals, where 250 patients are in ICUs in delicate health conditions.Their ages range from 1 to 93-years-old. And 328 patients are in recovery rooms. Many of the remaining infected patients are quarantined in their homes. 139,967 patients have fully recovered, a 76.8% recovery rate of the total cases since March. 535,554 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 United States. 2,384 deaths are listed as covid-19 related, approximately 1.3% death rate of the total cases since March. Of these are 895 women and 1,489 men. The ages range from a 2-year-old to a 101-year-old. Readers can see the updated number of total patients in each district at the National Distance Education University on its Covid-19 Map.  According to Johns Hopkins University, the pandemic has killed more than 1.9 million people worldwide. -------------------------- How could the authorities speed up the vaccination process against covid-19? We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com         
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