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Peruvian expert: COVID-19 vaccines are efficient and safe

Photo: ANDINA/Diffusion

13:00 | Lima, Jul. 17.

Cayetano Heredia Hospital's infectious disease specialist Leslie Soto on Saturday affirmed that all COVID-19 vaccines received by Peruvians are efficient and safe.

According to Soto, experts have determined —through a mathematical model— that a vaccine is useful against COVID-19 when its efficacy is over 60%.

In the case of Sinopharm, he said, its efficacy stands at 79%, while Pfizer's efficacy reaches 95%. For that reason, all doses acquired by the Peruvian State are useful against coronavirus-related illness.

"All vaccines have showed zero mortality with the original strain, a smaller number of hospitalizations, and a lower quantity of people in intensive care units," he indicated.

Concerning the claims that "low-quality vaccines" are sent to provinces, Soto explained that Pfizer vaccines remain in urban areas, as these must be stored at temperatures of -70 degrees Celsius, which is difficult to achieve in the country's interior areas.

AstraZeneca doses are mainly distributed in those zones, since the required refrigeration conditions stand between 2 and 8 Celsius degrees.

According to the expert, international studies have shown that this vaccine produces some type of clot in 0.5 people per one million inhabitants. However, COVID-19 produces more than 100,000 clot cases per one million inhabitants, he explained.

"Vaccines work if a person receives two doses (…) Do not stop going (to immunization centers) to get vaccinated," Soto pointed out.

Moreover, the specialist has predicted that there will be a third COVID-19 wave in Peru, explaining that "its magnitude will depend on us," which means complying with personal sanitary care and avoiding crowded spaces.

Finally, he said the vaccine is not a panacea. Therefore, people should keep wearing face masks, maintaining social distancing, and washing their hands to avoid COVID-19 contagion.

(END) SRE/RRC/MVB

Publicado: 17/7/2021