Published Wednesday, April 14, 2021

The Costa Rican government has imported 979,485 vaccines against covid-19, of the four million doses purchased from Pfizer/BioNTech, to apply the treatment to two million people.

The fourteenth shipment arrived last night at the Juan Santamaría International Airport in a DHL flight with 113,490 doses.

Of the total vaccines imported 586,799 doses have been applied, 354,291 of first doses and 232,508 of second doses. The national vaccination rate is 11.37 per 100 inhabitants, according to the Social Security statistics on Tuesday.

Another 43,200 vaccines have arrived. These are the AstraZeneca treatment, as the first cargo of one million doses purchased by the government since last year, through the COVAX system of the World Health Organization.
The country remains to finish inoculating 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 Emergency Commission workers, among others.

As well as 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.

As of Tuesday, there are 26,239 active infected people in the country, according to the Ministry of Health.


Last week,  Daniel Salas, Health Minister, said  that he will criminally denounce health workers who, without real medical reasons, refuse to receive the covid-19 vaccine.

According to Salas, there are health workers who despite knowing scientific facts about the efficiency of vaccines, refuse to accept the science.

"As Minister of Health, I will have to file a criminal complaint if they insist (those who refuse to receive the vaccine)," Salas said. "When we have finished the Group A (of the vaccination campaign), I will ask for the lists (of the health workers who rejected the treatment) from Social Security, the Insurance Institute, and the Ministry of Health to conduct criminal complaints, because in fact (they) are directly exposing the patient, not only to a complication but to death."

It is unfortunate that a person who works in the health area makes such a decision, added Salas.

"A health professional who has gone through a university, which is precisely (the way they learned) the scientific foundations that put them in front of a patient, the fact of not getting vaccinated is denying that knowledge," Salas said. "It is a matter of great responsibility,  respect, and a call that doctors must-have."

"We continue to call in the friendliest and most respectful way to all health workers to get vaccinated," Salas said.

Minister Salas's statements are in response to the case of a pediatrician who despite working at the National Children's Hospital, refused to be vaccinated against covid-19.

The doctor was infected with covid-19 while she was attending children. Due to the risk of infecting patients, the Hospital authorities applied the covid-19 diagnostic test to three children who were in contact with the doctor, before she was sent to quarantine. All three children's test results were negative.

The Costa Rican College of Physicians and Surgeons reported that they opened an investigation against this doctor for refusing to receive the vaccine.

It is expected that in the next few days, the College will announce the result in this case.

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