Tegucigalpa, Honduras
A nurse, who contracted covid-19 in 2020, and an internist, were the first two Hondurans to be vaccinated against the deadly disease on Thursday, just hours after 5,000 doses sent by Israel arrived in Tegucigalpa.
It’s about the assistant nurse Soraya ortega and the Doctor Nolvin Guifarro, who were vaccinated in a medical center in Tegucigalpa, in a ceremony attended by the Honduran President, Juan Orlando Hernández, accompanied by the heads of health, Alba Consuelo Flores, and of Foreign Relations, Lisandro Rosales, among other officials.
HERNÁNDEZ ANNOUNCES THE ARRIVAL OF 4 MILLION DOSES
The Honduran leader reiterated his gratitude to the people and government of Israel for the donation, which will immunize 2,500 people from the health system at the forefront of the fight against Covid-19.
Hernández said getting the first vaccines “was not easy” because “it is a race between countries that have money and those of us who are fighters”.
He added that he passed by conclude an agreement for the purchase of four million doses, plus others expected to arrive between March and June to protect all Hondurans.
In front of immunize For 20 percent of the population of Honduras, a country of 9.5 million, free vaccines are expected to arrive by the end of March under the Covax mechanism, promoted by the World and Pan American health organizations (WHO / PAHO).
The vaccines, from the pharmaceutical company Moderna, which arrived Thursday, will be applied to health personnel at hospitals in Tegucigalpa, San Pedro Sula, Santa Rosa de Copán and Choluteca, in the center, north, west and south of the country.
The immunization it does not concern minors under 18 or pregnant women, health authorities have reiterated.
VACCINATED NURSE SUFFERS FROM DIABETES AND HYPERTENSION
The first vaccinated nurse said Thursday that in addition to covid-19 in May 2020, she will be suffering from diabetes, hypertension and basic diabetic diseases that pose a greater risk to people who contract the disease.
Excitedly, Soraya Ortega indicated that “heart in hand, I’m telling you I was waiting for this vaccine” because “I needed it.”
Ortega thanked President Hernández for arranging the vaccines with Israel, a country that also sent 5,000 doses to Guatemala, which came on the presidential plane from Honduras.
Doctor Nolvin Guifarro spoke of how painful it was for him to watch patients die in hospital and intensive care units as a result of covid-19.
He added that given the high incidence of covid-19 cases Honduras has had, with more than 4,000 deaths and about 167,500 infections, he was afraid of getting sick from the same. EFE