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Heelyn Madrid, 44 years old and a resident of La Vega, arrived at the Locatel headquarters located in the El Paraíso Shopping Center, after 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, November 10, to put on the covid-19 vaccine. She was the first to arrive and be greeted by one of the employees, who immediately asked her for her personal information. He was given the dose and once they gave him his proof of vaccination, they told him that he had to sit for about 15 minutes to verify that he did not present any side effects. The entire process took about 20 minutes. «I think it is a very good initiative. It was pretty good and fast. They are very diligent. With all biosafety standards. I found it quite reliable, “he commented.
The Farmatodo and Locatel chains they joined from Monday, November 8, to the national vaccination plan against covid-19, after a agreement between the Venezuelan Chamber of Pharmacy (Cavefar) and the Ministry for Health.
People can go without an appointment to get vaccinated for free. They will only have to present their identity card and, in the case of those over 12 years of age, they will have to be accompanied by their representative.
«The process was very good. Pretty fast. Everyone is very attentive, ”said Morelva Rivero, 67 years old. She was the second person to receive the vaccine at the Propatria Shopping Center, where 91 people were immunized the day before.
Locatel had 12 establishments in the capital to vaccinate citizens: Boleíta, Caricuao, La Candelaria, Chacaíto, El Marqués, La Marrón, El Paraíso, Parque Caracas, Propatria, Santa Mónica, La Yaguara, and El Valle. In the interior of the country, the headquarters located in Punto Fijo is also enabled.
While Farmatodo will be vaccinating in Caracas at its locations in Vista Alegre, El Paraíso, San Martín (Av. Páez), Antímano, Catia, La Florida, Valle Abajo, and La Trinidad.
In Nueva Esparta, people can go to the Sambil Margarita. And in the state of Anzoátegui to the establishments of Los Cerezos in Puerto La Cruz, Bosque de Barcelona urbanization, Winston Churchill avenue in El Tigre and José Antonio Anzoátegui avenue in Anaco.
“The day started on Monday in some of the establishments but there was little attendance. After the information was published in the press, we began to be more receptive. The establishments with the highest number of people to date are Boleíta, Chacaíto and Santa Mónica. While at the La Marrón headquarters, attendance on Tuesday was low, “said a Locatel manager who preferred to protect his identity.
Nicolás Maduro reiterated a week ago that 70% of the population is immunized, although he did not differentiate what percentage have the complete scheme and who have only received one dose.
Good organization
The process to get vaccinated in Locatel and Farmatodo is far from what was evidenced in previous months in other immunization points installed by the State, where hundreds of people had to wait for hours and without complying with the due social distancing.
This agglomeration of people is the reason why Heelyn Madrid had not been vaccinated. “There were many people in the queues and many came with flu symptoms. To avoid anything, I preferred to wait. Also, I got covid-19 last year, “he said.
On a tour held on Wednesday by The National in Caracas it was observed that after 8:00 am most establishments were operational and had a moderate influx of people. In this places good organization could be evidenced when vaccinating citizens.
By 11:00 am, the Farmatodo located in Florida was one of the busiest spots. About 30 people were waiting to be immunized.
Carolina Aguilar confessed that she tried to get vaccinated in other places, but a medical condition did not allow her to be in places with too many people for a long time. «I suffer from seizures and one of the triggers is the noise, the murmur, that’s why I couldn’t go to a place where there was a lot of noise. In fact, to be here I have to wear earplugs, “he said..
For her, that recognized pharmacy chains joined the immunization plan is a good initiative. “I think it’s great, because somehow there were a lot of people apprehensive about going to other places because there were a lot more people,” he said.
The infectologist doctor Julio Castro considered that “the incorporation of Locatel and Farmatodo to the vaccination strategy generates confidence.”
At the Locatel Boleíta, where they vaccinated more than 300 people on Tuesday, by 12:00 noon on Wednesday they had already immunized 68.
“Many come during lunch time at work or after the children finish their school day,” said one of the managers who asked not to reveal her name.
Although employees at Locatel stores were cautious when speaking, they allowed taking pictures and recording in their facilities.
The incorporation of Locatel and Farmatodo to the vaccination strategy generates confidence, that is what it is all about. Good for that, maybe a little late, we said it months ago (and we put it in writing) in the suggestions to the MPPS, along with others.
– Dr. Julio Castro (@juliocastrom) November 10, 2021
What vaccine are they applying?
The vaccine that is being used in these operations is CoronaVac, manufactured by Sinovac / China National Pharmaceutical Group. It is administered in two doses of 0.5 ml intramuscularly, separated by an interval of 2 to 4 weeks.
The Ministry for Health provides these establishments only vaccines with their special injectors. The cold chain for the conservation of ampoules, space, medical personnel, and other supplies necessary for vaccination must be guaranteed by pharmacies, explained a Locatel employee.
In Locatel they will only be applying second doses to those who received this same injection, and at the moment they are not allowed to restart the vaccination schedule in those people who could not complete the process in the estimated times.
In social networks, several people have denounced that in Farmatodo at the moment they are not placing the second dose. The National could not verify or deny this information.
At the Farmatodo headquarters visited during the tour, they refused to give statements to the press. “We do not have authorization,” said one of the employees of the establishment located on Avenida San Martín.
They did not allow talking to people waiting to get vaccinated. Neither record nor take pictures. At the Florida headquarters they authorized to record statements by those present in line, as long as the facade of the pharmacy was excluded from the shot.
The National He tried to contact the station’s communications department, but there was no response.
The Chinese vaccines Sinovac and Sinopharm have received the go-ahead from the country’s academies to be administered in over 12 years of age, because studies have shown that its use is safe and effective.
After the start of classes on October 25, many parents fear that their children will be infected in the classrooms. This is the case of Belkis de Pineda, who went to the Florida Farmatode to administer the covid-19 vaccine to her 16-year-old daughter. “I went because they are already attending classes, and not all schools are vaccinating. Every time the measures are made more flexible there are spikes in infections, so I prefer to prevent, “he said.
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