Minister of Health promises good news regarding the COVID-19 vaccine for Colombia

Through his Twitter account, the Minister of Health, Fernando Ruiz, pointed out that Colombia already has 20 million doses of vaccines against covid-19 insured thanks to the COVAX mechanism. Likewise, the official indicated that in the coming days there will be good news on this issue that interests citizens.

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“We already have 20 million doses of COViD vaccines insured through COVAX and in the coming days we will give more good news to the country. Months of serious work to ensure effective vaccines “Ruiz said.

Among the vaccine options for Colombia is the COVAX agreement, which brings together nearly 180 countries for equitable delivery of the vaccine. At the same time, it seeks to be able to guarantee resources for the pharmaceutical manufacturers and ensure purchases worldwide to encourage the development of the last phases.

On the other hand, there is bilateral or direct purchase, which ensures a faster obtaining of the vaccine. These negotiations would allow “Buy vaccines from the pharmaceutical industry directly and under this mechanism we have the possibility of having vaccines for the first semester of 2021, with which we could meet our goal of vaccinating 15 million Colombians: 10 million through the Covax mechanism and 5 million by bilateral purchases “said the portfolio manager.

Despite not being mentioned in the last statement, the head of the portfolio in charge had already announced that Colombia has confidentiality agreements with six companies that produce the vaccine, among which are laboratories that lead the process worldwide: Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Janssen, Sinopharm, CanSino and the Serum Institute of India.

In the last hours, it was announced the possibility that the vaccine, upon arrival in Colombia, may have a price for strata 5 and 6. Some senators in the Congress of the Republic proposed adding a new paragraph to the so-called Vaccine Law.

As revealed by El Tiempo, in article 9 of the project that is being processed in Congress, with an urgent message from President Duque, a new condition, according to which “Strata 5 and 6 will be exempted from being free (in the acquisition of the vaccine against Covid-19), except for those who belong to health personnel, adults over 60 years of age and people with comorbidities.”

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This Tuesday it was also known how much the vaccines would cost in Colombian pesos:

– The Oxford – AstraZeneca, the cheapest, would cost 12,932 pesos.

– The one from Pfizer – BioNTech would cost 64,663 pesos.

– Moderna’s would cost seven times more than Oxford’s: 90,529 pesos.

– Sputnik V would cost less than 36,000 pesos.

Lenín Moreno, president of Ecuador, confirmed last Monday that your country will have access to the vaccine from January 2021. According to the president, he would vaccinate 30,000 Ecuadorians from that month and no less than nine million people in total. According to Moreno, the vaccines will only arrive when they are ready and in the “Moment when the efficiency and effectiveness have been verified”.

Statements like this unleashed a controversy on social networks due to the lack of clarity in the dates of the Colombian Government regarding the arrival of the coronavirus vaccine. Given this, the Minister of Health, Fernando Ruiz, indicated, during his participation in the ‘Prevention and Action’ program, that Colombia would have the vaccine in the first half of next year. However, it did not require a month and this time frame could be extended until June.