QCOSTARICA – On July 14, the Comisión Nacional de Vacunación y Epidemiología (CNVE) – National Vaccination and Epidemiology Commission – agreed to purchase 900,000 Pfizer-brand vaccines against Covid-19 to immunize 300,000 children.
One month after this agreement, the country is still waiting for the vaccines to arrive.
The press office of the National Emergency Commission (CNE) indicated that they are currently in the formalization phase of the addendum to the current contract. In principle, deliveries will be made in the next quarter.
María Luisa Ávila, infectologist at the National Children’s Hospital (HNN), pointed out that these doses are key to protecting a population that is currently being hit hard by the pandemic.
Leandra Abarca, coordinator of the Expanded Immunization Program of the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social (CCSS), explained that once the vaccine enters the country, the institution will begin the logistics for its distribution.
The population of children from six months to 4 years will receive three doses. The second will be applied three weeks after the first and the third at 8 weeks.
According to HNN data, since the start of the pandemic, a total of 905 children have required hospitalization for causes related to Covid-19. Of this number, 149 have required intensive care, while 18 lost their lives.
