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Sitting in a wheelchair Elizabeth Castillo takes a deep breath and closes her eyes as she receives the puncture in her left shoulder. At 91 years old, he is the first person in Costa Rica to be vaccinated against covid-19.
At the nursing home where she resides, a nurse patiently inoculates her with the antibodies with the syringe. Castillo feels that the trance is over and opens his eyes.
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He wears an N95 mask, but his gestures reveal that he is smiling. Raise your hands. The medical staff applaud. “I am very grateful to God, because I have asked him a lot. My life is very important to me, take advantage of all the moments,” she says in a slow and thick voice.
The dose he received, manufactured by the American-German duo Pfizer / BioNTech, is one of 9,750 that arrived in Costa Rica this Wednesday night, making it one of the first countries in Latin America to have this remedy, just on Christmas Eve.
I am very grateful to God, because I have asked him a lot. My life is very important to me, take advantage of all the moments
Next in turn is Jorge de Ford. Sitting on a sofa, after having moved for a few meters leaning on a walker, he rolled up his shirt to receive the substance.
“Get everyone vaccinated. It didn’t hurt at all,” exclaims the 72-year-old. “This moment represents for the country the beginning of the path to end the covid-19 pandemic,” said the Costa Rican president, Carlos Alvarado, present at the vaccination that was carried out in a local of the Fundación Pro Personas Adultas Olores, in San Ramón from Tres Ríos, 12 km east of the capital, San José.
(Also read: Mexico applies the first dose of the vaccine against covid-19)
In addition to Jorge and Elizabeth, a doctor and a nurse from the Specialized Center for the Care of Patients with covid-19, in the center of the city, also received their first dose.
The nurse who vaccinates the internist José Acuña warns him that he could present symptoms similar to those of the flu, but that he does not have to be alarmed. “It is a great honor to be among the first citizens to receive this vaccine. It is a huge effort to be one of the first countries with the vaccine and it will allow us to face what comes with more peace of mind, “says Acuña.
He says his daughters have lived in fear for his integrity for the past eight months, But when they learned that their father was going to be one of the first vaccinated, they exploded with joy.
It is a great honor to be among the first citizens to receive this vaccine (…)
“The country has been waiting for this, the world has been waiting for this,” he adds. Like the rest of those vaccinated, in 21 days they should receive the second and last dose, necessary to obtain immunity.
(You may be interested: Argentina receives the first shipment of Sputnik V against the covid)
During the day, 11 health workers and a dozen elderly people were vaccinated. This first batch is exclusively for health officials working on the front lines of the fight against the pandemic and the elderly.
The Central American country, of five million inhabitants, has an agreement to progressively receive 3 million vaccines from Pfizer that will cover 1.5 million people.
In addition, it already has agreements with AstraZeneca to vaccinate 500,000 people, and with the Covax mechanism, sponsored by the WHO, to serve 1 million citizens. The prospect is that by the end of next year, three million inhabitants will be protected against the disease.
Costa Rica expects to cover 80 percent of the population over 18 years of age. Every week, new doses will arrive and the vaccination will be done according to the group scheme prepared by the Costa Rican Social Security Fund.
(Also read: Without controls at Christmas, Venezuela increases risks in the middle of the pandemic)
On Wednesday, Costa Rica accumulated 161,942 confirmed cases of covid-19 and 2,065 deaths. It keeps 634 people hospitalized and 239 of them in intensive care. In recent days, the country has experienced a rebound in infections and has full space for critical patients.
AFP
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