Due to the increase in Covid cases, they carry out a mass vaccination day in Barranquilla

The authorities of the Department of Atlántico, through the Ministry of Health, organized a great day on Saturday 17 December to intensify the vaccination against covid-19 and the Expanded Immunization Program (PAI).

The vaccination day was carried out in order to complete the vaccination scheme against covid-19, with the first and second reinforcements, i.e. the third and fourth doses, taking into account the increase in cases and the return of biosecurity measures in places with high traffic, such as shopping malls, health sites and public transport, which are heavily visited these days.

The Secretary of Health of the Atlantic, Alma Solano, has indicated that it is important to be vaccinated in order to be able to share these Christmas and end-of-year holidays with your families and friends.

“In Colombia there has been an increase in cases in recent weeks; this is why we ask people who have not yet completed their booster shots to do so on this vaccination day. In this way they protect themselves from the disease and take care of family and friends”the official explained.

The Ministry of Health has indicated that various strategies will also be implemented, one of which is the house-to-house search to find people who have not yet applied the reinforcement, and also in the hospitals and vaccination IPSs of the 22 municipalities of the department of Atlantic.

In the middle of the vaccination day, the vaccines of the Expanded Immunization Program (PAI) were similarly applied, such as hepatitis A and B, rotavirus, pentavalent, pneumococcus, polio, influenza, BCG, DPT, triple viral, varicella, HPV, measles, rubella and yellow fever.

A national level is facing a peak in respiratory infections which has increased the number of doctor visits and has generated prevention for the holidays that arrive in December, New Year and Christmas.

According to the latest data revealed by the National Institute of Health (INS), The number of outpatient visits for respiratory diseases recorded in 2022 exceeded 7.21 million, with data updated at the beginning of December.

This is the highest figure in the last five years. Although consultations dropped sharply in the two years marked by the covid-19 pandemic (2020 and 2021), there were fewer consultations in the pre-pandemic years. Approximately 7.02 million external consultancies were reported for 2018 and 6.72 million in 2019.

ICU occupancy, meanwhile, has been much lower than in 2020 and 2021. Hospitalizations for respiratory diseases are also high, as 272,191 have been recorded up to this December, the highest number in the last five years.

Added to this is the increase in circulation of the coronavirus. The most recent report from the Ministry of Health showed that the country recorded 7,052 new cases of the coronavirus between December 8 and 15 alone. The high number has raised concern, since so many infections had not been reported for nearly 17 weeks, when the country was dealing with the fifth peak of the pandemic.

According to the same report, there were 7,664 active cases of covid-19 as of Dec. 15; that is, people who are currently dealing with the virus. Perhaps one of the data that generated the most concern was the number of deaths. Between 8 and 15 December, 53 deaths from covid-19 were reported, meaning that deaths increased by 65.6% compared to the immediately preceding week.