Dominican Republic receives first batch of Pfizer vaccines
The Dominican Republic received the first shipment of Pfizer anticovid vaccines, a batch of 228,150 doses, which allows the inoculation of minors from the age of 12.
The lot was received by the Administrative Minister of the Presidency, José Ignacio Paliza, in the company of the United States Charge d’Affaires, Robert Thomas, the Counselor for Public Affairs of the United States Embassy, Alexander Titolo, and the Superintendent of Health and Occupational Risks (Sisalril), Jesús Feris Iglesias.
“Today, we are very happy to receive the first American vaccines, acquired from the pharmaceutical company Pfizer, by the Dominican Government. These vaccines will guarantee the inclusion of young people from 12 years of age to the National Vaccination Plan, an important step for a safe return to face-to-face classes”, said the Chargé d’Affaires of this Embassy, Robert Thomas.
Pfizer vaccines will be applied during the weekend to any adult and to those over 12 years of age, in Santo Domingo and Santiago.
On May 17th, the Chamber of Deputies approved the modification to the binding specifications with the pharmaceutical company Pfizer to acquire 9,999,990 at a total cost of US $ 119,999,880, and each dose of vaccine to prevent COVID-19 will cost 12 dollars.
Pfizer vaccines need a very low temperature of between 60 and 80 degrees for their conservation, so they will be stored in freezers that were presented by the vice president this Friday morning and which are located in the facilities of the Expanded Program on Immunization (PAI).
The country has received around 6.8 million doses of vaccines from AstraZeneca and Sinovac brands, including today’s Pfizer, and has applied 6.0 million, of which 4.2 million correspond to the first dose and 1.8 million to the second.
With these stats, the Dominican Republic is the third country in Latin America with the highest vaccination rate, behind Chile and Uruguay.
Despite the good progress in the vaccination rate, the country is at a time of increase in coronavirus infections and hospitalizations.
The Ministry of Public Health notified this Friday 1,129 COVID-19 infections and 5 deaths, which increases the total number of cases registered since March 2020 to 306,698 and deaths to 3,700.
In the country, there are 1,393 people hospitalized for COVID-19, for a bed occupancy of 52%, while intensive care units (ICU) are at 72% of their capacity, with 464 beds occupied.