President Giammattei foresees fourth wave of coronavirus in Guatemala and criticizes those who refuse to be vaccinated – Prensa Libre

He added that the highest peak since the beginning of the pandemic, in March 2020, “we had it in August when 5,826 infections were registered in a single day” and that thanks to “a combined strategy between curfew, multisectoral operations and the implementation of new vaccination strategies, have allowed us to see today a notable decrease in the number of infections that have been registered and we are close to 3,000 cases, that is to say, about 45 percent decrease ”.

He added that this does not mean that the guard should be lowered, because “we are preparing for a high possibility of the increase in cases that could occur in November, a fourth wave that we can stop in time if we work together, in a disciplined way, if they go to get vaccinated and physical distancing is maintained, among other actions that depend on the individual commitment of each person, we can defeat the pandemic with the use of masks and constant hand washing. ”The president said that the number of people draws his attention who died during August in the Villa Nueva hospital and the Temporary Hospital of the Parque de la Industria, where a study was carried out.

“His statistics reveal that, of the total of deaths that add up to 524 regrettable losses of human lives, 369 of them, that is to say 70 percent, had not applied any dose of vaccine. 145 of the deaths, which is equivalent to 27 percent, already had a dose applied, “said Giammattei.

In addition, he said that only 2 percent of the deceased had the complete vaccination scheme and “had an average age of 70 years, that is, it is highly probable that they have had other pre-existing diseases that increased their vulnerability.”

He also said that until this Friday at 2:00 p.m. 7 million 49 thousand 889 doses of vaccines had been administered, of which 4 million 520 thousand 452 are first doses and are equivalent to 66 percent of the target population over 18 years of age. Also 2 million 500 thousand 157 people, that is, 24 percent of the target population, already have their complete scheme.

“Now that we have managed to vaccinate a significant number of the population in the departments of Guatemala, Sacatepéquez, El Progreso, Chimaltenango and Escuintla, we are facing great challenges during the vaccination process, especially in the most remote areas of the country,” he said. .

He added that there are still unfounded myths and negative rumors about the vaccine against covid-19: “people think that the vaccine could kill them, that the vaccine represents the mark of the devil, that the vaccine brings a chip to control me or that it causes infertility , no gentlemen, you should know that:

“The vaccine is safe and does not hurt. At worst you might be expected to have some mild symptoms later on, but this is normal as with any other vaccine and in a very low percentage of people inoculated. The vaccine is effective, the vaccine prevents death from covid-19 ”, he added.

“We have guaranteed the supply of vaccines for the remainder of the year, you can enter the website yomevacuno.gob.gt and find out the locations and hours of attention of vaccination posts.

Finally, the president said that after having enabled the registry of minors “we are about to receive a significant number of Pfizer vaccines through the Covax mechanism and we will use them for this population segment.”

Data

The Guatemalan health authorities reported this Friday another 61 deaths due to covid-19, so the country accumulates 13,625 deaths due to the disease, the highest number in Central America.

According to the Guatemalan Ministry of Health, in the last 24 hours, 17,199 tests were carried out to detect the coronavirus, both in the public and private spheres, and 2,942 of them were positive.

Official statistics assure that from March 2020 to date 563 thousand 257 positive cases of covid-19 have been confirmed in Guatemalan territory, including 13 thousand 625 deaths due to the disease.

The health portfolio also asserted this Friday that 522 thousand 451 patients have recovered from the coronavirus, although the figure is an estimate.

The incidence of covid-19 in Guatemala is 3,341.1 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, the mortality rate is 77.7 deaths per 100 ml people and the fatality rate remains at 2.4%.

According to the Ministry of Health, vaccination against the virus has increased in recent days in Guatemala and the doses applied add up to 6 million 977 thousand 782.

Of that total, 4 million 522 thousand 494 Guatemalans have received the first dose against the coronavirus and 2 million 455 thousand 288 the complete scheme (two doses).

The health authorities maintain the immunization days against covid-19 in 726 positions, backed in many places by members of the Guatemalan Army.

However, with a population of more than 16.3 million inhabitants, Guatemala remains one of the Latin American countries with the worst vaccination rates, according to counts from international organizations.

The authorities have already authorized the registration of children between the ages of 12 and 17 so that they can soon receive the coronavirus vaccine, but they have not yet decided when they will enable its application or the type of immunizer that they will inject into the minors.

Guatemala is in the third wave of the disease since last June, although the number of infected and deceased has decreased slightly in the last two weeks.

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