Agencies and mayors are preparing for the second phase of vaccination

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Members of the Association of Mayors met yesterday with personnel from the Ministry of Health and National Guard to coordinate the next phase of vaccination against COVID-19, which is expected to begin in the coming weeks and will involve humans over 65 years old. years, education professionals and first responders.

According to the National Guard general assistant, José Juan Reyes, this is the first major phase in which about 760,000 people will be able to participate, so they are seeking the help of the municipalities to facilitate coordination and assign internal priorities in each city council.

“We asked them to identify emergency responders, including the municipal police, to set up an appointment system once Phase 1B begins,” Reyes explains during a brief meeting with the press as he exits the Convention Center. de Villalba, where the activity was carried out.

Early phase 1A

Phase 1A consisted of inoculation by healthcare professionals and the vaccine is currently being administered to staff and older adults in long-term care centers. As of yesterday, 39 of these centers had been treated, said Iris Cardona, undersecretary of the Ministry of Health.

Cardona explained that if they can vaccinate about 70% of the people considered in the first stage, they will start serving the teaching staff, estimated at about 200,000 people; adults over 65, of which about 400,000; and the emergency responders, which are approximately 160,000 individuals.

“We move while the plan was conceptualized. We are completing phase 1A. We have already passed 60% and we understand that in the coming weeks we will be reaching that magical 70% number of health workers and we can move into Phase 1B, ”he said.

Reyes, for his part, said they have received 160,000 doses of the vaccines produced by the Moderna and Pfizer companies so far. Of these, 126,000 have been distributed and 71,000 are administered. About 18,000 have received the second dose of these vaccines, the military explained. Puerto Rico receives between 30,000 and 40,000 doses of vaccines every week.

Of the 71,000 people who received the vaccine, side effects have been recorded in only 11 cases. None of these situations were serious, the health official said.

Luis Javier Hernández, director of Villalba and president of the Association of Mayors, explained that, in addition to identifying the staff of first need in the municipalities, they will provide information about the elderly and bedridden people in their cities so that they can be vaccinated with priority. The association groups the mayors who are affiliated with the Popular Democratic Party.

He also argued that as vaccination enters a phase involving a greater number of people, many congregations will work together by making their facilities available so that they can serve as centers for vaccinations.

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