Bogotá’s Health Secretary says the next vaccines to arrive would be from AstraZeneca for adults over 80 years of age

Mass vaccination against covid-19 begins in Bogotá. Photos: Ministry of Health

On the morning of this Friday, the Secretary of Health Alejandro Gómez reported that they hope to start the vaccination of people over 80 years of age in the coming days, depending on the arrival of the vaccines that are destined for this population that, like front-line health personnel, they are in the first phase of vaccination against covid-19. The secretary said they are “fully prepared.”

“The Ministry of Health told us that Next week, in February, vaccine arrives from AstraZeneca, another pharmaceutical company to start vaccinating staff and citizens over 80 years of age. We are in that purpose ”, however, he affirmed that the information is changing according to what the Ministry of Health communicates to them.

Faced with the exact start date, Gómez affirms that it is not clear, however, he dared to give an approximation. “We would be prepared to start the other weekend with people over 80 years old,” he concluded.

On the other hand, the official said that next week, between January 22 and 28, other vaccines would arrive to continue vaccinating in the capital. These would be first doses, that is, they would not be part of the second vaccine that should be applied to 21 days to people who have been immunized so far. Finally, he also said that the decision to leave or not the peak and ID must be announced by the mayor of Bogotá this Friday.

Until this Thursday at 5:00 pm, in Colombia 7,854 vaccines had been vaccinated against covid-19 in the country, with Bogotá being the city with the most applications with more than 7,000. This morning the mayor, Claudia López, updated the figures saying that, as of Thursday, February 18, 7,917 people were vaccinated, which responded to 64 percent of the vaccines that the Government delivered to this city: 12,582.

Getting to cover 100 percent of the first-line personnel in the Colombia University Clinic and in the Santa Clara Hospital, with 882 and 444 respectively. While where they have least been able to vaccinate is in the Cancer Center of the city where they reached 48 percent last night with 780 people from the front line staff. Finally, the Santa Fe Foundation has vaccinated 1,206 people with 57 percent until this Thursday.

It was also reported that on February 18 the first cases of side effects produced by Pfizer’s biological began to be known. There are five people, all reported by the Colombia Clinic, which ensures that patients have presented mild problems and are stable.

At least that is what he told CM & Dr. Ricardo Herrera, manager of the institution, who specified that “There was a reddening of the skin, two patients who had a rise in their blood pressure, which was later controlled, someone whose throat was swollen, which was also controlled; and another that obstructed the upper airway, which was also treated and controlled quickly.

That last person, added the director of the hospital, went under observation for an indeterminate period of time. Nevertheless, The doctor offered a piece of reassurance, because fortunately none of the cases passed to adults.

It is worth remembering that, according to what was said on numerous occasions by the Minister of Health and Social Protection, Fernando Ruiz, the main side effects of the American pharmaceutical vaccine are pain, swelling and redness in the area of ​​application, with which one of the cases reported by Clínica Colombia is covered; and fatigue, feeling tired and pain in the joints and headaches in the rest of the body.