(CRHoy.com) .- The World Health Organization (WHO) approved the Tuesday June 1 the emergency use of the Chinese COVID-19 vaccine, Sinovac.
Faced with this situation, CRHoy.com made the respective inquiries to the Ministry of Health to find out if Costa Rica intends to acquire said vaccine, taking into account the considerable times that the Government has promised such negotiation.
On repeated occasions, the health authorities have been emphatic that approval from a regulatory agency or WHO is required to proceed with the drug procurement.
However, and after the approval of this entity, the Ministry of Health was emphatic that still there is no supply capacity for the country of said vaccine.
“The evaluations of vaccines against COVID-19 are permanently maintained by the National Commission for Vaccination and Epidemiology. It is important to reiterate that the approval of a vaccine by a strict regulatory agency or the homologation by WHO does not mean the ability to supply Costa Rica”Wrote the Ministry of Health to CRHoy.com.
On August 21, 2020, the government even mentioned that it was in talks with China about the Sinovac vaccine, they did see this in a press release. ”Technically, the investigative developments on which the country has already had approaches, and that could have the possibility of success due to the research phase in which they are, are analyzed, namely Pfizer, Astra Zeneca y Sinovac. New contacts are sought with other governments and developer companies to be able to analyze different options for ongoing research and participate in international efforts, at a global and regional level, with the aim that Costa Rica be part of these initiatives once they materialize. ”.
Even a month later, on September 21, 2020, they indicated in another statement that 6 vaccines were being analyzed by the Ministry of Health, the Costa Rican Social Security Fund and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship, receiving technical and logistics information. from each of the laboratories: AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Sinovac, Sinofarm, Moderna and the Russian development Sputnik V.
Given this response from the Ministry of Health, CRHoy.com consulted with the epidemiologist Ronald Evans about the importance of Costa Rica being able to acquire these vaccines.
As explained by Evans, the importance of Chinese vaccines is that They can be used in certain age groups, since it does not generate contraindicated effects for people who are at risk.
“The two Chinese vaccines are inactivated; this means that they will cause no reaction to anyone. It is important that the Government acquire them because it could be applied to those who are still awaiting immunization and who cannot inject the doses of Pfizer and AstraZeneca due to their side effectsEvans assured.
Another unfulfilled promise?
Previously and in repeatedly, the president of Costa Rica, Carlos Alvarado, has communicated that Costa Rica was holding negotiations to bring the Sinopharm vaccine, which was approved on May 7 by the WHO.
Despite this and after almost a month of announcing such contact, the progress has not yet been notified nor is it known that it prevents the bringing of said vaccines to the country.
For the epidemiologist, not having Chinese vaccines in the country at this time is something unjustifiable, mainly because they are already endorsed by the WHO and their benefit would be very great.
“The government should be pressured to expedite the purchase of more doses, in order to have a larger stock of vaccines and to be able to apply an open vaccination; it would be a tragedy if this was an unfulfilled promise by the authorities” he pointed.
For this reason, the Ministry of Health was again consulted about the processes that are being carried out to acquire Chinese drugs, to which it was replied that have not materialized due to lack of dosage.
“Costa Rica has already maintained contacts with the government of China who have indicated that the supply capacity of said product is limited,” replied the Ministry of Health.
For the epidemiologist Ronald Evans, it is totally unacceptable that Costa Rica still does not have a greater variety of vacciness. Likewise, he specified that it is time for Chinese vaccines to reach the country, since by not completing the negotiations in a short time, the country would be playing with the lives of many Costa Ricans.
At the moment, it is not clear what the bilateral contact between the Costa Rican government has consisted of with that of China and It is not known when the much-acclaimed acquisition of vaccines will take place.
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