From Thursday, people over 60 with chronic diseases can be vaccinated according to an orderly process, as part of the new Administrative Decree 2021-486, signed by the Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Carlos Mellado López. Administrative decision no. 2021-486 is extended for 30 days and aims to give priority to the administration of vaccines to the most vulnerable population.
“We have managed to vaccinate 25% of the older adults on the island and we continue our mission to vaccinate everyone in Puerto Rico. However, with the advent of more vaccines, it is important to start integrating other populations into an orderly process. So starting next week, the priority will be extended for those who are 60 to 64 years old and who suffer from chronic illnesses who receive the vaccine. It is important to emphasize that the number of vaccines we are getting, despite increasing, does not allow us to vaccinate everything at the same time as we would like, we are going little by little. ”, Explained Mellado López.
According to the terms identified by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, for its acronym in English), these diseases are: cancer, chronic kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (emphysema, pulmonary fibrosis or alpha1 anti-rispin deficiency), Down syndrome, heart disease (heart failure, coronary artery disease or cardiomyopasty) and immunocompromised status (weakened immune system) as a result of an organ transplant. These guidelines are for all established vaccination centers, with the exception of those dedicated to the vaccination of educators.
The health minister stressed that the new population to be vaccinated must provide a medical referral, which in fact confirms the patient’s condition and that they are among those exposed in the OA. “At the moment the instructions remain the same, we will continue to vaccinate adults over 65 years of age only in all centers receiving vaccines, with no exceptions,” he said.
This board decision instructs DS inspectors to oversee all vaccination centers to investigate their compliance, emphasizing that the stages of vaccination adopted by the department will be rigorously pursued. It is worth noting that the vaccination of adults over 65 years of age or older continues, as stipulated in Administrative Order No. 2021-480.
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