More than one million Pfizer vaccines arrive in Colombia

This Wednesday, March 16, Colombia received the second batch of vaccines against covid-19 that were donated by the Government of Germany. The country now has 1,162,980 new doses from the Pfizer laboratory.

The Deputy Minister of Public Health and Service Delivery said that, with these new vaccines, a total of 2,332,980 doses against the coronavirus have been received by the German Government. He also indicated that in total Colombia has had 16,695,400 biological products donated by different countries.

The vaccines that arrived this Wednesday will be destined for first, second and booster doses. “These vaccines are incorporated into the National Vaccination Plan against covid-19 and are willing to increase coverage and be able to complete schemes in the population over 18 years of age,” Escobar said, emphasizing people over 80 who have not yet received the third inoculation.

The official also called on the general public to attend the vaccination points established in each city with the aim of “protecting us against covid-19,” he said in a press release.

It should be recalled that this batch donated by Germany that arrived today was announced since the end of December. At that time it was reported that in addition to the Germans, the Spaniards would also send doses of vaccines to Colombia. It was detailed that the German Government will deliver a total of 2.4 million vaccines and the Spanish 6.4 million vaccines.

The delivery was budgeted for last February, but some delays arose due to the shortage of vaccines and the political tension currently being experienced in Europe.

While waiting for the missing batch of this donation to arrive, Colombia also expects to receive other vaccines donated by the United States. On March 10, in the middle of the first official meeting of Presidents Iván Duque and Joe Biden, important announcements were made regarding safety, migration and health.

As for the latter, the US president confirmed that he will donate two million biologicals to the South American country. It is still pending confirmation of the date of receipt and the laboratory that produced them, but it is expected that by the end of April, the batch will arrive in Colombia.

Thus, the United States consolidates itself as one of the main donors of vaccines to Colombia. President Duque thanked this support and said that the North American country “has come to save the lives of thousands of migrant citizens.”

Vaccination in Colombia

The most recent report from the Ministry of Health also points out that as of 11:59 on Monday, March 14, 2022, a total of 79,222,616 doses of the vaccine against covid-19 had already been applied in Colombia as of 11:59 on Monday, March 14, 2022

According to the same report, the number of Colombians with the complete vaccination schedule, that is, those who have already received both doses of the biological, is now 27,981,667 people, while 6,265,357 people have been immunized with single doses. Likewise, 9,589,039 booster doses have been applied.

Similarly, during the last day, a total of 115,772 vaccines were applied, of which 33,523 were for the second injection, while another 6,670 were single-dose.

The Ministry of Health and Social Protection gave way to the commercialization of rapid antigen tests that detect covid-19 in Colombia. The entity recommended using them when symptoms associated with covid-19 occur or if you were in close contact with a patient with a positive diagnosis.

Leonardo Arregocés, director of Medicines and Health Technologies at the Ministry of Health and Social Protection, said that “the best time to take this test is from the first day of symptoms until the seventh day.” In addition, he indicated that these tests can be obtained in pharmacies, drugstores or trusted establishments, taking into account that they should only be used with tests registered with the National Institute for Drug and Food Surveillance (INVIMA).

The Ministry assured that if the test is positive, “it must be isolated immediately for seven days, in order to reduce the risk of contagion to people with whom it shares, whether at home or at work,” the entity said in a press release.

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