The Ministry of Health is negotiating the arrival of 25,000 doses of the monkeypox vaccine

The Ministry of Health and Social Protection announced Thursday, October 20, in a statement, to continue negotiations for a memorandum of understanding allowing the arrival in Colombia of 25,000 doses of the monkeypox vaccine.

According to the statement, the deal is part of an investigation that will be conducted by several countries together with the World Health Organization. On her Twitter account, the owner of the portfolio, Carolina corkwrote the following:

“We will soon have news about monkeypox vaccines. The @MinSaludCol has not stopped making efforts around the world for its acquisition and we are close to reaching the agreement. For now, continue with the protective measures and don’t be misinformed ”.

Instead, Martha Ospina, director of the Istituto Superiore di Sanità, explained it To date, 3,110 cases have been confirmed, of which 99.3% occurred in men between 18 and 48 years of age. He added that in 80% of cases they have already recovered and with no further health consequences or no deaths.

He also indicated that cases continue to present a “concentrated dynamic” and that in Colombia, as in other countries, there is a “slowdown” in the transmission of the virus, as well as a “self-limitation of the disease”.

Clara Suárez, director of Epidemiology and Demography at the Ministry of Health, said that the first case of monkeypox in Colombia was confirmed on June 23, during epidemiological week 22; a peak of 444 cases was recorded in week 36, and cases have since declined to 168 in week 40.

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Furthermore, as part of the interventions of the Ministry of Health and Social Protection, guidelines for handling cases, as well as recommendations for prevention, have been defined and implemented since August; all, with the support of the Colombian Association of Infectious Diseases ACIN and the Federico Lleras Hospital.

This provision sets out comprehensive management, biosecurity and mental health measures to be implemented by health service professionals and companies administering benefit plans. Home management is also included when there is an established or suspected case of monkeypox or its contacts.

Likewise, the monitoring process continues through the various local authorities and attention is paid to ensuring that all services are guaranteed to those who need them.

These statements come after the Pan American Health Organization published the list of countries that have already purchased doses of the monkeypox vaccine, in which Colombia was not included, which has caused public surprise in the country. .

The explanation that Minister Corcho gave in this regard was that of a clause of the company that produces the vaccines, the pharmaceutical Nordic Bavarian, could not be accepted due to the Colombian regulatory framework, for which the purchase had to be renegotiated. For this reason, the Ministry of Health had to look for other options, which, according to Corcho, would already be about to give results.

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