The head nurse of an intensive care unit Verónica Machado became the first person to be vaccinated against COVID-19 in Colombia on Wednesday, when the South American country formally began free and voluntary immunization.
“Today begins a new chapter in what is the defeat of this pandemic,” said President Iván Duque outside the Hospital Universitario de Sincelejo in Sucre, northwest of the country. “Verónica Machado is today the symbol of those heroes and heroines in Colombia and in the world who throughout this pandemic have managed to save lives,” he added.
The vaccination plan began three days ahead of schedule. Colombia is one of the last countries in South America to start its vaccination campaign that will seek to immunize 35 million citizens, 70% of its population.
The country received the first shipment of 50,000 doses of Pfizer’s vaccines on Monday, the first part of 10 million agreed with the pharmaceutical company. The vaccination plan in Colombia will prioritize the immunization of workers in the health sector, the population over 60 years of age, and people with chronic diseases.
“Colombia expects from us this effort, that example and that ability to convince Colombians to tell Colombians: the vaccine is effective, safe and we must vaccinate ourselves,” said the Minister of Health, Fernando Ruiz, after the first immunization.
Machado, 46, with two decades of experience, was chosen to receive the first dose as a symbol of the importance of women in the health sector, who represent 70% of the workforce.
The nurse works in a public hospital in Sincelejo, 900 kilometers from Bogotá. The government has recognized that one of its main challenges is to take vaccination to the furthest places from central Colombia.
On Thursday he will be vaccinated in Bogotá, Medellín, Cali, Bucaramanga, Cartagena and Barranquilla. According to the government, on February 20, 192,000 doses of the Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac will arrive in the country and in the next month 1.6 million vaccines will be reached.
So far the government has purchase agreements for 68 million doses with the pharmaceutical companies Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Janssen, Moderna, Sinovac and Covax – the initiative of the World Health Organization to guarantee equitable access to vaccines.
As of Wednesday, Colombia has registered 2.2 million cases of coronavirus and almost 58,000 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins University Center for Science and Systems Engineering.
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