Coronavirus: Uruguay assesses application of third booster dose | Facing the Delta variant

The secretary of the Presidency of Uruguay, Allvaro Delgado, said on Friday that the government assesses the possibility that the covid-19 vaccine requires a third dose to maintain protection.

“We are investigating if there will be a third dose this year”, the official told reporters in the city of Paysandu, and stated that negotiations are already underway with the laboratories that produce them to ensure the annual supply that might be needed, as they study the different alternatives offered by the market and therefore it would be “maybe on more of a platform “.

This Thursday, the Minister of Health, Daniel Salinas, indicated that this alternative is subject to the Delta variant enter Uruguayan territory and that scientific evidence confirms the danger it represents.

“At present, at least in Uruguay, there is no evidence that proves and confirms that Delta has a higher and faster level of infections,” he told La República newspaper. And he added: “There is always an opportunity to adapt and change. At the moment the guidelines are what we are implementing.”

Following statements by the spokesperson on the lower effectiveness of these doses against the Delta variant of the coronavirus, Salinas said it had requested information from the headquarters of Chinese biopharmaceutical Sinovac.

“We are asking the Sinovac headquarters for information on what support it has, what experience it has, if it has a phase III study and that they send us as the health authority all the necessary data,” reported Salinas at a press conference.

The debate for the application of the third doses is installed in the world. Countries like turkey Yes Dominican Republic they are already advancing on this path, while UK Mix this option also for people over 50 from September.

The epidemiological situation in Uruguay

In the country, until July 20, the capacity limited to 50% in the collective transport service of interdepartmental and peri-urban travelers continues, at the same time as “the protocols of hygiene and individualization of travelers continue to be in force “.

In addition, the “maximum limit of 10 people standing” for suburban or metropolitan services, which has been in effect since May 2020, is extended until the 20th of this month, the newspaper El País and Montevideo Portal reported.

Uruguay closed June with 1,317 deaths linked to the coronavirus pandemic, below May, when there were 1,660 according to official data cited by Montevideo Portal.

With a population of 3.5 million, the neighboring country has already vaccinated 2,283,356 (64.45%) with one dose and 1,711,793 (48.31%) with both doses.