Hundreds of citizens wake up lying on the sidewalks in front of the Santo Domingo Health Center with the aim of obtaining the yellow fever vaccine.
Many come from the south, especially from Barahona and San Juan, and all arrive at the medical center hoping to spend hours before the long-awaited sting, which in most cases means a direct flight to countries in South and Central America.
Since before five in the morning in that medical facility there has been a panorama of disputes due to “bad organization” at the time of a user who asked for the application of the yellow fever vaccine.
As reported by the inoculation manager, Alvin Johnson, the doses are running out due to the hundreds of people who show up at the door of the center to try to receive them.
“We only placed 10 at most, but from May to here the flow of people has been inexplicable because people have come in greater numbers,” Johnson explained.
The head of the area assured that about 400 people who need the immunizing serum receive every day, when the inoculation capacity is 80 people a day. This causes citizens to start getting angry about not getting their dose.
This is the case of Manuel Figuereo, a 32-year-old who spoke to a journalist from Listín Diario about the trip he has been to try to get vaccinated against the viral infection.
“Look, I have three days dawn here so that when they want to remember me, they can vaccinate me, and let me tell you those three days were also two flights changed in date because I can’t leave without that vaccine,” he said. confessed Figuereo, who is leaving for Guatemala tomorrow, Saturday.
After that, with their vaccination card in hand, they can now fly to other countries where they ask for this protection against dangerous yellow fever. The trips are expensive: they cost around 3,500 dollars to make the ‘return’ and arrive first in Mexico, and then in the United States, a promised land for many Latin Americans.
They are in a hurry: some flights leave within 48 or 24 hours, and travelers urgently need to be “fooled”.
Reason for the increase
This increase in dose demand is due to the massive travel that is taking place in South America and Central America, taking into account that those countries require the vaccine for travellers.
The manager also confirmed that, due to the increase in people treated, the number of doses received during the week had run out. Therefore, people will have to wait until this week to receive it.
Yellow fever
Yellow fever is transmitted by a species of mosquito common in parts of Africa and South America.
It is advisable to get vaccinated before traveling to those regions. Moderate cases cause fever, headache, nausea, and vomiting.
Severe cases can cause fatal kidney, liver, and heart disease.
