Recently there were rumors about the alleged end of the health emergency in Colombia, a measure decreed by the President of the Republic, Iván Duque, to deal with the covid-19 pandemic in the country.
This Wednesday, April 6, the Minister of Health and Social Protection, Fernando Ruiz Gómez, made it clear that the decision not to extend the health emergency in the country has not yet been taken.
He also pointed out that it is necessary to have several considerations to make such important decisions, such as the reduction in contagion and death from covid-19; however, so far, what has been analyzed is something called an endemic channel, which is to find a point where mortality is similar to that in previously brought.
“It is necessary to assess how long we will be in that endemic channel, the acceptable threshold and also the global context,” said Ruiz Gómez, making it clear that there are still countries that maintain the health emergency, given that the World Health Organization (WHO) “has not given indications that it is close to limiting it; we remain in the area of pandemic”.
He also explained that it is necessary to continue to take into account the global context; to review the vaccination indicators that are most lagging behind, particularly in Africa and Asia, as well as the progression of the epidemic in China.
Regarding the measures that emerged thanks to the declaration of a health emergency, especially social, economic and beneficial to the population, the minister specified that “the Government has been analyzing the impact of lifting the emergency, because the entire legal apparatus is still heavily supported by that emergency”.
In the case of the Ministry of Health, the contribution subsidy that allowed more than two million people to remain members for two years is still in force, although it stressed that, as employment conditions have improved, that number has decreased.
Here are some figures regarding vaccination against covid-19 in Colombia
Likewise, the minister stressed that the country, in terms of immunity between natural and by vaccine, is most likely above 95%, and noted that the peak of Ómicron in the country was smaller, given “that combination of natural immunity with vaccine”.
On the other hand, MinSalud pointed out that Colombia has more than 82% of the population with one dose and 68.4% with two doses, “but we are doing a review department by department, because we have found that many have not reported a significant number of people vaccinated”, as happened in Antioquia, where 160,000 were identified vaccines that had not been reported.
Finally, he explained that in case of contagion or related symptoms, if it is less than 60 days old, it should be treated as a respiratory syndrome: mask and monitor behavior to identify if there are breathing difficulties. If you are over 60: see a doctor for testing and special monitoring.
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