Starting this Wednesday, the fourth dose against covid-19 will be applied in Bogotá: these are the conditions

On the morning of this Wednesday, March 23, the Ministry of Health of Bogotá announced new public health provisions. These measures include some changes in the vaccination scheme against covid-19 and recommendations to prevent what would be a possible peak of acute respiratory infections.

One of the most important announcements, on immunization, is that from now on citizens will be able to apply a fourth dose as long as they are over 18 years of age and have some form of comorbidity, such as immunodeficiency or transplants. This was indicated by the Secretary of Health, Alejandro Gómez, from the Child Welfare Center.

“These are people who have had kidney, heart, liver, or bone marrow transplants. Or people who have autoimmune diseases, such as lupus erythematosus, vasculitis, and other diseases that compromise the immunity of people,” said the official, adding that for the start of this process only vaccines from the pharmaceutical company Pfizer will be applied.

“We have enough doses to care for all people who require their second dose and their first or second booster. This is the change that has taken place in our scheme and is supported by the best scientific evidence,” explained Gómez, who highlighted that the booster dose was what protected the capital of the country from the peak of infections by the omicron variant.

Following this, the Secretary of Health stated that, from this moment on, the second dose against covid-19 can be combined with a biological different from that applied in the first pimple. Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca, Sinovac and Janssen vaccines can be combined with each other, remembering that children between 3 and 11 years old are only qualified to receive their first and second doses of Sinovac.

Finally, the entity explained that in Bogotá there are always two peaks due to respiratory infections. Between March and April it is the first; and by October it is the second. This, according to the organism, is part of the consequences of the rainy seasons and the circulation of viruses “especially influenza and parainfluenza”.

“Right now in Bogotá there are many cases of respiratory syndromes. It's not necessarily COVID. [...] We can have children with flu, cough and general malaise. This should lead to families adopting protective measures, washing hands and wearing masks in closed spaces,” Gómez concluded.

It should be recalled that, since March 1, Bogotá has not been mandatory to wear masks in open spaces due to compliance with biosafety provisions and progress in vaccination processes.

Accompanied by the Minister of Health, Fernando Ruiz, and the German Ambassador to Colombia, Peter Ptassek, Vice President Marta Lucía Ramírez led a formal event at the Air Military Transport Command (CATAM) in which she highlighted the German government's collaboration with the Colombian government in the field of health.

According to the official report provided by the Foreign Ministry, this donation is the result of Ramírez's international visits in November last year, where he had the opportunity to meet with Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas.

The vice-president also highlighted the strength of bilateral relations with the European country: “Germany's cooperation with Colombia is a state policy between two countries that have been united for many years.” For his part, the German ambassador to Colombia declared that there is a long way to go before the end of the coronavirus pandemic in the world, so “among friends, we have to help when it's time”.

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