Drifting vaccination: how political obstacles slow down the immunization process

The pace of vaccination against COVID-19 in Peru has declined significantly since the beginning of March. According to the former minister of this sector, Hernando Cevallos, the daily figures are not close to 50% of those that should have already been achieved at this stage of the pandemic. This issue was even discussed during the recent interpellation of Minister Hernán Condori in the Congress of the Republic.

This raises the question: what role does the political juncture play in such a vital process as the vaccination of the population?

Manuel Carpio-Rivero, professor at Pacífico Business School and expert in managerial skills and supply chain, points out that constant changes in the cabinet of ministers simply make good governance unsustainable. “When there are many changes in people in an organization or company, it is very difficult to sustain any strategy, because people come with new ideas, with ignorance,” he explained in an interview with Infobae Peru.

Indeed, on February 25, the head of immunizations, Gabriela Jiménez, left her post, which was key in the advancement of vaccination against COVID-19. In his letter of resignation, he stated that the continuous changes in the Minsa affected the technical structure of his area and denounced a series of abuses against his management since Hernán Condori took office.

“The resignation of the high-level team has been a tremendous setback. In addition, it was a team of quite technical people who knew what they were doing and today we don't have that, unfortunately,” he said.

CONFLICTS AND JUNCTURE

Carpio-Rivero also stated that the current situation and political instability greatly affect the vaccination process. Due to recent protests in Ica, Huancayo, demonstrations and protests created restrictions which make it impossible to physically mobilize vaccination centers. This is another problem, since for the executive, the Government should bring vaccines to people.

This was the same approach that Flor de María Philipps, former head of Susalud and director of the MBA in Health at the UPC, had in an interview with this medium in November 2021. “I think the problem is not in Lima, although the (vaccination) rate has also dropped here. The problem is the remote places. There are still older people who have not received the full dose, much less the booster dose,” he said.

“Places like, for example, la Selva, where the only way to get there is by river transport. If before it was difficult, in logistical terms, to get there, imagine now with this uncertainty and political disinterest,” he added.

THE MANAGEMENT OF HERNÁN CONDORI AND PEDRO CASTILLO

Another relevant issue, in the midst of the political crisis, is how much importance and priority the Government gives to vaccination. Let us remember that we are in a scenario where different institutions have been calling for the resignation of President Pedro Castillo due to his ineffectiveness on several fronts.

Everything indicates that the decline in vaccination began during the administration of the previous head of the Health portfolio, Hernán Condori. The doctor was questioned as soon as he took office. He was questioned on March 16 and censored on March 31.

“From what we've seen, he didn't have the skills to be there and in fact they censored him. He has done absolutely nothing for the vaccination process, the same one that had been walking more or less well. One may criticize Cevallos and his advisors, but he was walking. With Condori, clearly, he stopped walking,” said the PBS teacher.

THE EXPIRATION OF VACCINES

The previous management of Minsa was also criticized for the expiration of 8,580 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines in March, this was even the subject of discussion during the censorship debate. In total, 2.4 million doses of AstraZeneca expired on March 31 and 3 million doses from the same laboratory will expire on April 30, according to Cenares figures.

“A vaccination is an operation, it has a lot to do with logistics, with the operation, with supplies, vaccines and their expiration. Those batches expire because we are not being able to reach people to vaccinate them,” Carpio-Rivero said.

Therefore, the expiration of vaccines is due to a very poor management of inventory distribution and management, not a problem with contracts, as Condori pointed out, or because of an “oversupply”. “I don't think we can talk about oversupply when there are still a large number of people in the country who haven't received the full vaccine,” he said.

According to the Minsa Situational Room, as of April 14, 30.7% people have not received all three doses of the vaccine. In the 5-11 age group, 33.4% have only the first dose and 66.6% have the second dose.

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