In less than two weeks, more than one million doses of the first component of Sputnik V will expire. The Ministry of Public Health and Social Assistance (MSPAS) will implement an intensive strategy to apply in the next nine days more than 700 thousand vaccines, reported the portfolio.
As part of the actions, will be installed Vaccination posts in municipal capitals of the 340 municipalities of the country with hours from 10 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.; house-to-house vaccination in communities with difficult access during extended hours and mobile vaccination posts.
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“However, to reach the goals of the immunized population and the administration of all the vaccines, the most important element of the process is the availability of the population to go to the vaccination centers. It is imperative that the population become aware of the importance of protecting their lives and that of their families through the vaccine,” the portfolio reported.
To advance vaccination The MSPAS has also supported community and religious leaders, municipal and community mayors, assures the ministry. Likewise, it has required support from other institutions such as the Ministry of National Defense (Mindef), the Guatemalan Social Security Institute (IGSS), the National Civil Police (PNC), the Association of Shopping Centers, departmental governments and municipalities.
However, one of the reasons why there is still no progress in vaccination, especially in rural and Mayan-speaking communities, is due to the low investment in communication campaigns.
According to one investigation of Free Pressof the Q15 million that were assigned to the Social Communication Secretariat of the Presidency (SCSP) as part of the emergency law last year, only eight percent went to reporting in indigenous languages.
coordinated work
Alicia Chang, from the Guatemalan Association of Infectious Diseases (Agei), believes that the MSPAS should continue to require support from other agencies to speed up vaccination.
“I think that the MSPAS should ask for help from other instances. The Army has been used. There are other hospitals that could increase the number of vaccinators. And with a large number of vaccinators, it would be possible to have coverage in the communities where it has not been reached, ”he believes.
For his part, José Ortiz, an epidemiologist at the Covid-19 Observatory in Guatemala, says that educational campaigns should be intensified.
“An educational and dissemination plan must be implemented, which is what has been lacking in this vaccination process. Incentives can also be given. Colleges, universities and jobs could give a day off to whoever gets vaccinated, for example,” she says.
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