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“We are waiting to apply the first vaccine in the first half of 2021”, The Minister of Health, Fernando Ruiz, said this Wednesday, given the recent announcements of at least three vaccine projects that have yielded promising efficacy results against covid-19.
Ruiz pointed out that the vaccination plans designed for three months contemplate that the vaccines would initially cover the health workers (800,000 people), older than 60 years (6.8 million people) and population with comorbidities such as hypertension, diabetes, heart disease and kidney deficiencies (6.4 million people).
The first vaccines to be applied would be those obtained through direct negotiations with pharmaceutical companies, which would be about five million doses.
The other 10 million would be covered by the COVAX mechanism, of which Colombia is part, and would arrive in the second half of 2021.
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Ruiz clarified that the rest of the population and groups that are less likely to have mortality from covid-19 could have access to the vaccine in 2022. “We are seeking to reduce mortality and in the way in which vaccines are going to be available we will necessarily have to cover risk groups first,” Ruiz said.
This second phase of the program seeks to generate herd immunity by vaccinating between 50 and 60 percent of the rest of the population.
“When a person is vaccinated, not only protects themselves, but also protects others and cuts the chain of transmission, and this group immunity would occur when approximately 60% of the population is immunized”, He asserted.
About costs
Ruiz reiterated that the vaccine will be free for the entire population and will be distributed through public and private health services, noting that “the vaccination program in the country is linked to the fundamental right to health and the public health function of the State.”
Faced with proposals to charge the highest social strata for the vaccine, Minister Ruiz rejected the initiative, stating that it is not possible to discriminate against people based on their socioeconomic status.
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In this regard, it indicated that minors or older adults living in strata 5 or 6 cannot be discriminated against. “A discrimination process would be even more costly, more cumbersome and would limit access to vaccination in a very serious way.” Ruiz said.
Faced with the resources available for vaccination for covid-19, the minister said that, So far, there is enough budget to vaccinate 15 million people. “For now we are advancing in bilateral negotiations with different pharmaceutical companies, we hope to have some news in the last days,” he revealed.
In the process of negotiations, Colombia adopted as public policy not to make blind purchases, but only when there is scientific information on safety and efficacy.
“Once that information exists, we begin the vaccination process, but obviously we have previously signed a confidentiality agreement with Pfizer and other companies,” said the minister, adding that vaccines would be purchased from different laboratories, as long as there is availability.
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In this way, Ruiz argued that there are confidentiality agreements with Chinese and Indian vaccines, among others. “What we are waiting for, as in all cases, is the evidence. For that reason it is so important for a country not to buy blindly, but with scientific and hopefully published information on the efficacy of vaccines ”, he concluded.
“As a responsible country, we will acquire those that have authorization from the Food and Drug Administration, FDA (for its acronym in English) and the European Medicines Agency, and here INVIMA will do its own process,” he said.
The head of the Health portfolio pointed out that at this moment Colombia has negotiations with confidentiality agreements with: Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Janssen, Sinopharm, CanSino and the Serum Institute of India, since the country is open to acquire different vaccines as long as they comply with the standards of safety in people and efficacy against the virus.
HEALTH UNIT
