In the official’s words, the health strategy, the cost of which he himself estimated at $ 5 million, goes beyond the construction of the modules.
The COVID-19 vaccination plan that the government is preparing to implement and the millionaire spending on building modules where the dose will be applied were justified again on Monday by Health Minister Francisco Alabí in a televised interview.
In the official’s words, the health strategy for which he himself has set the cost at $ 5 million and for which he has been criticized by the same group of doctors and nurses, “does not just involve placing a cube,” he claimed.
ALSO READ: Vaccination modules for COVID-19 are going to cost $ 5 million, Salud said
“We’re talking about 156 places and that furniture, refrigeration, cold chain, logistics process and health unit remodeling are not included,” he added.
Alabi states that “vaccines cannot be placed in areas that do not exist or are in poor condition, where the requirements are not met and where the strategy cannot be applied in a short period of time”.
Regarding the construction of the vaccination modules, Alabí had already explained, during his appearance in the Legislative Assembly, before the special committee investigating the use of funds to combat the pandemic, that the cost of each is being estimated. for $ 32,000, for a total investment of $ 5 million.
However, President Nayib Bukele contradicted Alabí in a press conference last Saturday regarding the cost per module, assuring that the meeting was “about $ 6,000 and something.”
READ MORE: Minister Alabí contradicts himself on under-reporting of COVID-19 cases
“The price is fake, it’s not that close, if we don’t consider the computers, equipment, cooling equipment, etc., it’s worth about 6000 and a little dollars per module, 6000 and something like that, of course when you get the computers,” cooling, the price will of course go up ”, says Bukele.
Doctors ask
In the doctors and nurses industry, the cost of the modules has led to rejection and outrage for describing the action as a waste, as the country’s public health system has 700 health units with adequate cold chain infrastructure to store the AstraZeneca vaccine the refrigerator at the required temperature.
“The Health units are equipped with the necessary infrastructure to maintain the cold chain, namely keeping the vaccine refrigerated until the exact moment it is applied. In addition, the people who go to the communities or who go on itineraries and who cannot go to the units carry the thermos that are regulated and standardized with the requirements of the World Health Organization. And that they can work in this case. They don’t need extra infrastructure, it’s not necessary, it’s a waste of resources, ”said former Deputy Health Minister Eduardo Espinoza.
ALSO: The government is failing to meet its own Cifco hospital phase 3 deadline
According to Espinoza, Health had to be strengthened and spent on the health units, where there are already vaccination sites.
“In my opinion that (construction) is a propaganda issue for electoral purposes, but it doesn’t answer the need; the pandemic vaccine (construction) should simply have been added to the effort already existing in the programs. vaccination programs, in which the country already has a lot of experience, ”he said.
Eduardo Espinoza added that there are 570 Community Family Health Teams nationally based and their work itinerant trained for home vaccination. The former official stressed that it was these health teams that in the past enabled El Salvador to position itself with high vaccination coverage, surpassing Costa Rica in terms of coverage.