QCOSTARICA — The more than 600 cases of COVID-19 in Costa Rica reported by the Ministry of Health in the first days of the year are within what was expected, in accordance with the epidemiological behavior of the virus, according to Health authorities, who acknowledge the fact, it has indeed been a rapid process.
The circulation of the JN.1 variant, family and social activities at the end and beginning of the year, as well as the forgetting of recommended hygiene measures, have influenced the increase in cases.
“Unfortunately, the increase in cases is partially due to the population’s failure to adhere to basic hygiene practices that have been recommended. In addition, we noticed a lack of vaccination, which also contributes significantly to this increase,” said Mario Urcuyo, Vice Minister of Health.
This Monday, the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social (CCSS) began distributing the 22,000 doses of Pfizer brand bivalent vaccines donated by the government of Panama in the more than 100 Health Areas located throughout the country.
“These bivalent vaccines are current according to the scheme approved by the Comisión Nacional de Vacunación y Epidemiología – National Vaccination and Epidemiology Commission – and continue to generate immunological protection against COVID-19 and are therefore recommended as an effective preventive strategy,” they added in the Ministry of Health.