Application of third doses against COVID-19 decreased by 43% compared to peaks reached in January | ecdata | LIME

The application rate of booster dose against him COVID-19which will be key to prevent the spread of new variants or stop an eventual fourth wave of the virus, is still advancing slowly. At yesterday’s close, the people immunized with the third dose amounted to 13.2 million, a figure that represents only 46.2% of the target population (over 12 years of age) according to figures from the Single National Repository of Health Information (Reunis ) of the minsa. In the group of older adults, the most vulnerable, this figure had reached 70%.

Since April 1, the presentation of the vaccination card with the three doses of the drug is mandatory for adults to enter public and private establishments, as well as to carry out face-to-face work, according to the Supreme Decree No. 030-2022 published in El Peruano. Despite this, less than half of adults between 18 and 40 years of age, who mostly belong to the Economically Active Population (PEA), have this requirement.

The slowdown in vaccination at the national level became evident during the management of the still Minister of Health, Hernán Condori, who was censured last Thursday by the Congress of the Republic. In March, the average number of inoculations reached 73,000 daily booster doses, a figure 42.8% lower than the maximum levels observed during the month of January, when, on average, more than 128,000 Peruvians were vaccinated with the third vaccine. dose [ver infografía].

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in fall

How has the rate of vaccination changed? At the beginning of February, during the last days of the administration of the former minister Hernando Cevallos, health personnel applied an average of 103,000 third doses nationwide. After three weeks, which were marked by the resignation of the advisory team of the minsa and of key officials in the process, said figure barely exceeded 60,000 doses, the lowest of the year and which remained at an almost constant level until the 23rd of that month.

The decline in immunization levels was recognized even by Condori himself. However, the head of the Minsa attributed it to the fact that the decrease in mortality from the disease made the population think that the virus was no longer present and that is why they lost interest in vaccination.

“CAs there are no longer many cases of deaths, it is not seen on the streets that black bags of corpses of these patients are seen due to this disease that has mourned the country. As it is no longer seen, people are also not aware that this disease has not disappeared, so we have practically empty vaccination points”, he pointed out during a visit to the city of Trujillo.

These statements were rejected by experts in the sector, such as the former Minister of Health, Óscar Ugarte, who stressed that the main problem lies in the policy applied by the Minsa. “It is because the Government itself is saying enough with two doses, that is what is serious. The responsibility does not belong to the people but to the authorities, who give a terrible message”, he indicated.

In the last days of March, a slight recovery in the applied booster doses is observed, which coincides with the beginning of the first Vacunatón of 2022, where various centers located in Lima and Callao attended 36 and 12 hours in a row, as well as due to the proximity of the requirement of the third dose for entry to premises.

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Contrast in regions

As in the application of the first and second dose, the progress in the coverage of the booster dose shows a marked difference between regions. Metropolitan Lima, Callao, Ica and Lima Provinces top the list; but they still do not exceed 60% of immunized. Within the capital, the area with the greatest progress corresponds to Diris Lima Centro and Lima Sur, with progress of 61.6% and 57.6%, respectively. For its part, the first port has a coverage of 60%

However, the lag is more noticeable in the jungle and some areas in the south of the country. In Ucayali, Loreto, Huancavelica, Ayacucho, Madre de Dios and Puno, coverage with the booster dose is below 30% of the target population.

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