QCOSTARICA – From the start of the vaccination program against covid-19 on December 24, 2020, 193,273 doses have already been applied countrywide.
Of this total, 142,049 are the first applications and 51,224 to the second. So far, all the vaccines received are those produced by Pfizer.
Mario Ruiz, medical manager of the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social (CCSS) – Costa Rican Social Security Fund, pointed out that vaccination involves challenges due to the complexity of logistics since it depends on the doses that reach the country.
At the same time, the target population is diverse and divided by priority groups in the five health areas.
Currently, the CCSS continues vaccinating people in the first and second prioritization groups; the first made up of the elderly in nursing homes, first line healthcare workers of the pandemic and emergency personnel, the second made up of people over 58 years of age with or without risk factors.
The campaign has been affected by various problems
Eight deliveries
On Tuesday, March 2, 2021, the country received the latest batch of vaccines from Pfizer, the single largest shipment so far of109,980 doses, for a total of 386,000 doses.
Of the other shipments, 92,430 doses were received on February 23; 16, 575 doses on January 19, after a four stoppage in shipments by Pfizer for enhancement to their European manufacturing and distribution center; 33,150 doses January 12; 33,150 does on January 5; 11,700 doses on December 30; and 9,750 doses in the first batch on December 23.
Estimates from the Ministry of Health indicate that, by the end of March, the country will have received a total of 750,000 vaccines from Pfizer.
Between April and May, in addition to more deliveries by Pfizer, expected are deliveries of 204,000 doses AstraZeneca, and 208,000 through the Covax mechanism.
In total, Costa Rica has secured more than 6 million doses of vaccines from the various pharmaceuticals to vaccinate more than 3 million people.
