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Published Thursday, February 4, 2021
Vaccinations for people over 58
will begin in two weeks
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The next shipment of vaccines against covid-19 purchased from Pfizer-BioNTech is expected to arrive later in the month, allowing people 58 years or older to get vaccinated, according to Daniel Salas, Minister of Health, in a hearing before Congress deputies.
This is the second group of pre-selected people to receive the vaccine, includes those over the age of 58, regardless of whether or not they have any risk factors. It is estimated the treatment will be applied to 867,000 people, on the condition that the vaccine shipments arrive on Feb. 15.
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.
Minister Salas and Román Macaya, president of Social Security, were interviewed on Wednesday by the deputies of the Vaccination Commission to address advancements in the vaccination campaign.
It is currently still inoculating the first group. This includes the elderly who live in nursing homes, nursing home employees, healthcare workers, members of the police force, firefighters and National Commission Emergency workers.
Of the total number of vaccines already imported, 57,701 doses have been applied. Reaching a national vaccination rate of 1.12 per 100 inhabitants. Of those already vaccinated, 48,833 are first responders and 8,868 are workers and residents of nursing homes.
This week, Social Security called on people who qualify in the second group, to visit the local public clinic, known as Ebais, to be registered.
In the case of the people who are already registered in the Social Security database, known as EDUS, they will be contacted by phone to register for a vaccine date.
On Jan. 23, minister Salas announced that the Pfizer vaccine delay is, "due to the adjustments they are making to increase the number of vaccines, there will be a gap in the shipment."
While the vaccination campaign advances, authorities from the Ministry of Health reported on Wednesday the most updated status of the covid-19 public health crisis in the country:
• 528 new covid-19 cases are reported, bringing the total to 37,842 current active cases.
• 24,179 foreign-born people have been infected, totaling 195,537 cases since March, approximately 12.3% 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.
• 402 patients are being treated in public hospitals, where 181 patients are in ICU’s in delicate health conditions. Their ages range from 1 to 92-years-old. And 221 patients are in recovery rooms. Many of the remaining infected patients are quarantined in their homes.
• 155,045 patients have fully recovered, a 79.3% recovery rate of the total cases since March.
• 601,058 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.
• 2,650 deaths are listed as covid-19 related, approximately 1.4% death rate. Of these 995 are women and 1,655 men. The ages range from a 2-year-old to a 101-year-old.
Readers can see the current number of infected people 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 2.2 million people worldwide.
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What should the authorities do to speed up the vaccination campaign in the country? We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com
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