Puerto Rico health authorities announced on Monday that only people over 65 will be vaccinated against Covid-19 for the next four weeks.
That is why the vaccination process of, among others, primary health personnel has been suspended until after vaccination of the elderly.
This was announced in a statement by the secretary of the Puerto Rican Ministry of Health, Carlos Mellado, who announced that he will sign the order next Monday.
“We are going to make sure that current phase vaccines get where they really need to go. Our seniors are our priority. They represent the most vulnerable population and it is our duty to guarantee the vaccine to prevent preventable contamination, ”he said in a statement.
“We are not going to tolerate anyone skipping or bringing forward the phase that agrees with them. Given the changes envisaged in the new board decision, we will remain vigilant so that the directive is not violated under any circumstances,” said Mellado.
The secretary announced that next Monday he will sign an administrative order ordering sweeping changes to the vaccination process.
This order states that for the next four weeks only adults over 65 years of age or older will be vaccinated in all centers on the island, with the exception of centers designated for the education system.
The order also makes that clear the shift of primary care workers will resume once the shift for the elderly is over.
On the other hand, he reported that a group of health inspectors had already been appointed in the vaccination centers to validate the cleanliness and sequence of the processes established from the start.
The Head of Health called on the general public to respect and wait their turn to get vaccinated, according to the current stage.
Likewise, he stressed that all vaccination requests should be directed to the Department of Health, the agency leading public health efforts.
The Ministry of Health, in turn, has referred to information regarding the vaccination of some employees of the State Election Commission (CEE).
In statements to Efe, health sources indicated that it is a process that was never authorized and stopped immediately after becoming aware of it.
According to official data released this Monday, Since the start of the pandemic, 1,836 deaths have been reported on the island and 87,440 confirmed positive cases.
Puerto Rico has 3.2 million inhabitants.