Paraguay receives first shipment of Russian COVID-19 vaccine

Since Thursday, Paraguay has its first vaccines against covid-19, a shipment of 4,000 doses of Sputnik V, which will be applied to health personnel and which have been received at Asunción International Airport between the national flags.

The plane, a cargo ship from Moscow, landed on the pier reserved for presidential flights in the presence of the Minister of Health, Julio Mazzoleni, other authorities and a number of journalists.

The vaccine container, adjusted for the relevant refrigeration, was wrapped in a Paraguayan flag before being lowered from the device, which previously called in Miami and Bogotá.

The accusation, which is part of the million doses agreed with the Russian Investment Fund, comes when the government has been criticized by some media outlets for being behind schedule in obtaining antidotes compared to others. In the region.

In this direction, Mazzoleni said the arrival was an important step forward for health professionals in the South American country, of around 7 million people, to deal with the pandemic, and this represents around 3,000 deaths and more than 140,000 cases due to covid to date.

“It’s a very happy day, it’s a first step to be able to start this vaccination plan and be able to reach as many compatriots, it will serve to be able to approach the very first line, we will be able to cover all the personnel of respiratory therapies as in the whole country, ”the minister told the media.

“This is a big first step because we are going to protect them and these people are going to be able to continue to save many lives, so we hope that this process will accelerate and that we will have many burdens like this.“, He said.

Mazzoleni, who in his press conference described the day as “a very important day for Paraguay”, reiterated at the airport that the vaccines will be intended for 2,000 professionals already scheduled.

“The first beneficiaries will be people in intensive therapy, target staff, support staff and also diagnostic support people, people who usually take swab specimens.», He indicated.

The vaccines will remain stored in the cold chain until Monday, when the inoculation must begin among professionals from various hospitals.

The arrival of the drugs came a day after the telephone conversation between the president, Mario Abdo Benítez, and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Poutin., to agree on a schedule to promote shipment of the remainder of the million doses.

Mazzoleni also argued that next week the portfolio will receive an “official note” from the multilateral Covax mechanism, specifying the volume (of vaccines) allocated to Paraguay and the date of arrival.

Paraguay expects to receive 3.2 million doses from Covax fund, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) equitable distribution program articulated for poor and developing countries.

The forecasts are for a vaccination of 30% of its population, according to three stages, in which health workers are given priority, followed by adults aged 18 to 59 with underlying diseases and teachers with criteria of vulnerability.

Finally, airport, military and police personnel who did not enter the previous phase, persons deprived of liberty and non-essential workers will follow.

Paraguay has recorded 147,253 infections so far since March 2020, with 2,991 deaths and 123,293 cured, according to the latest report from the Ministry of Health.

Mazzoleni warned this morning that last week there had been an 18% increase in infections over the previous one, mainly in the central department, the most populous in the country.

The minister also confirmed the first case of re-infection with coronavirus, a man who contracted the disease in June and was infected again in November.

Since the detection of the first case in March, the government has deployed various phases of social restrictions to contain the pandemic, given the precariousness of the health system.

In recent weeks, complaints from citizens about the lack of supplies and intensive care units have become widespread.

With information from EFE

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