The authorities of the Bolivian city of El Alto seek to reverse the low vaccination of its population against COVID-19 by offering food incentives, while a new batch of the Russian inoculant Sputnik V arrived in the Andean country that will be applied to people waiting for the second dose .
El Alto, which is a neighbor to La Paz, “is on the last step of vaccination” of the entire nation, said the Minister of Health, Jeyson Auza, on Saturday in a ceremony in which together with President Luis Arce, the mayor from that city, Eva Copa, relaunched the immunization campaign.
The mayor of El Alto determined that people who are inoculated are given food such as noodles and rice, among others, in exchange. In addition, more vaccination centers were set up, and the government donated a couple of refrigerators to the city to maintain the cold chain of the roads.
People made long lines. Nair Altamarino, a student, told The Associated Press that she had herself inoculated to take care of her health and said she could not do it sooner due to lack of time. In addition, he called for his neighbors to be vaccinated and not to believe in “lies” about the vaccines spread on social networks.
Arce asked citizens to be vaccinated to be prepared for a fourth wave and so that the economy can be reactivated.
Meanwhile, the Andean nation received a new batch of 125,000 doses of Sputnik V in the morning that had been delayed, causing uncertainty for people who received their first dose more than 90 days ago. A similar shipment arrived last weekend.
Arce also announced that AstraZeneca vaccines donated by the COVAX system of the World Health Organization will arrive.
The Ministry of Health reported that so far 28% of the population has received the two doses and 40% the first of a universe of 7.1 million people. The pandemic, which is in decline with less than 1,000 new cases per day, has infected more than 481,600 and killed more than 18,000 in the country, according to authorities.
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