Home » Health » “Even without a health emergency, we continue with the vaccination against covid-19”: Gersón Bermont, director of Promotion and Prevention of the Ministry of Health

“Even without a health emergency, we continue with the vaccination against covid-19”: Gersón Bermont, director of Promotion and Prevention of the Ministry of Health

In Colombia there are 2,589,920 doses of Pfizer, 3,968,447 of Moderna, 1,247,179 of Sinovac and 4,037,927 of Janssen. PHOTO: EFE/Chamila Karunarathne

After the end of the state of Sanitary Emergency decreed by the National Government to face the covid-19 pandemic in Colombia, the Director of Promotion and Prevention of the Ministry of Health, Gersón Bermont, pointed out that although the different criteria for the that the measure was declared and extended for more than two years, it must be borne in mind that the pandemic is not over.

In this sense, he called on the territorial authorities and the population to continue advancing in the National Vaccination Plan, since the cases of covid-19 have been increasing: “Today we are experiencing an outbreak with a slight increase in cases and deaths in recent weeks, which worries us, but does not force us to take exceptional measures, “he said.

Progress in the National Vaccination Plan

Already in the analysis of the progress of vaccination against covid-19, Bermont let it be known that in Colombia there are already 42,556,892 people with the first or only dose, which represents 83.4% of the national population. Of these, 36,217,823 (70.9%) people have a complete scheme.

Meanwhile, in booster doses, 13,054,552 (39.6%) people over 12 years of age have received the so-called third dose, and 867,597 people have received their second booster dose. “There is a decrease in vaccination, mainly in boosters, and sadly the new cases are concentrated in people at risk who have not been vaccinated or do not complete their schemes or do not go for their booster dose,” said the Director of Promotion and Prevention of the Ministry of Health.

In boys and girls, on the other hand, 4,677,961 (86.8%) have received the first dose and the lag in the second dose remains, with only 3,211,307 (46%) children vaccinated.

In this aspect, Bermont expressed special concern, given that the country is experiencing a peak of Acute Respiratory Infections (ARI), in which the number of deaths from these in children under 5 years of age that were reported throughout 2020 has already been reached. Prevention measures such as the use of face masks, hand washing, ventilation, cleaning, and vaccination must be intensified,” the official said.

Finally, in migrant vaccination, Bermont reported that there are already 643,342 people with the first or only dose. In this way, there are already 85,988,286 doses applied in Colombia since the National Vaccination Plan began.

territorial advance

Regarding vaccination coverage in the territories, the director indicated that 521 municipalities have already reached the indicator of coverage greater than 70% and reinforcements of 40%. In this sense, the country is already at 59.9% of the goal and 449 municipalities are missing (40.1%).

Among the territories that have already reached the goal are Quindío, Boyacá, Caldas, Tolima, Antioquia, Amazonas and Risaralda. And within the capital cities, Tunja, Armenia, Leticia, Pereida, Ibagué, Manizales, Bogotá, San Andrés, Bucaramanga, Barranquilla, Cali, Medellín, Puerto Carreño, Popayán and Yopal are located.

Therefore, he called on the mayors of the cities that have not achieved it to intensify vaccination and reinforce their strategies. “Many municipalities must make a greater effort,” he emphasized.

Current measures

Now that the health emergency is over, it should be borne in mind that the Ministry of Health continues to be the governing body of the covid-19 pandemic. That is why Circular 28 of 2022 was issued, which defines the application of the covid-19 vaccine at all the vaccination points of the PAI program or at the vaccination services authorized by the IPS.

A second regulation is Resolution 1140 of 2022, which authorizes the second reinforcement in people between 12 and 49 years of age on medical recommendation. “And that includes family members and caregivers of people who are immunocompromised or undergoing cancer treatment, as well as health professionals who are exposed by handling patients with covid-19,” Bermont explained.

Another document is the Strategic Vaccine Reserve, defined in Resolution 1141 of 2022, where it establishes the amount of vaccines required in the territories to guarantee the attention to the demand for biologicals by the population in a timely manner.

With this, the criteria to define the strategic reserve are specified, such as: population that is expected to be vaccinated, population that has not yet started or completed the scheme, population subject to reinforcement according to the guidelines, indications of the vaccines and storage capacity.

Thus, the vaccine is guaranteed for all Colombians in any territory. “We currently have 2,589,920 doses from Pfizer between the territories and the free zone, 3,968,447 from Moderna, 1,247,179 from Sinovac and 4,037,927 from Janssen,” revealed Bermont.

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