Santo Domingo. RD
The vice president and head of the health cabinet, Raquel Peña, warned this Tuesday that only the government has the power to import the different types of vaccines developed to stop COVID-19.
The vaccination plan for the Dominican Republic Neurological Center is coordinated by President Luis Abinader, Vice President Raquel Peña and the Ministry of Health (MSP), and is made up of various actors from the public and private sectors.
The information was released after a meeting led by the Vice President of the State System’s Directorate General of Coordination, Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence (C5i), in which the Prosecutor General’s Director of Prosecution the republic, Judge Yeny Berenice Reynoso.
The presence of Judge Reynoso is due to the development of a strategic plan within the legal framework, which will present a series of official measures to prevent some interested sectors from becoming involved in the illegal commercialization of the vaccine against the viral disease.
As reported by the Vice President, who is trying to protect the welfare of the population, All companies or individuals will be sanctioned for this, in violation of the regulations laid down in decree 246-06, import the vaccine; and also notes that there will undoubtedly be prosecution by the prosecution, for anyone who has the guts to seek economic benefit by marketing vaccines, toying with the health of the Dominican population and the delicate situation arising from the pandemic.
Peña stressed that the regulations stipulate that “All medicines must have a sanitary registration” and that only the state is authorized to import any type of medicine without a sanitary registration, through special temporary permits issued by the Directorate-General for Medicines, Food and Sanitary. Products (DIGEMAPS) covered by MSP Resolution No. 00053; Therefore, it would be illegal for an entity not authorized by the corresponding authorities to import vaccines against COVID-19.
She assured that as the coordinator of the health cabinet and vice president of the republic, it is in these times of crisis to ensure the effective protection of the rights of the citizens and to ensure compliance with regulations regarding health services, as recommends the constitution.
Date of arrival of the first vaccines
Globally, there is a delay in the advent of vaccines due to high demand and approval processes from international and local health authorities, which is why numerous countries have had to adjust their vaccination schedules.
So far, the government of the Dominican Republic has signed three purchase and sale agreements guaranteeing 20 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine and is negotiating with other pharmaceutical agencies for the potential purchase of more doses.
Among the agreements signed by the Dominican Republic is the agreement concluded with the immunization mechanism against the coronavirus “COVAX”, promoted by the World Health Organization (WHO), the GAVI vaccine alliance and other international organizations, through which the country expects 2 million doses.
In relation to the above, COVAX published an indicative list on Wednesday, February 3, stating the number of doses they intend to distribute to the different countries that have signed the agreement; In it, they estimated that the Dominican Republic would initially receive 542 thousand doses of the vaccine developed by the Oxford University and AstraZeneca.
One reason why there is not yet an exact distribution date is that the AstraZeneca vaccine, in particular, is still awaiting WHO approval, as such authorization is one of the inescapable requirements for vaccine distribution via COVAX.