The COVID-19 vaccination of people aged 36 and older will start on Wednesday, August 25,
Health Minister Hernando Cevallos has announced.
"It is key to reduce the age bar and, in fact, we are doing it. We are also interested in closing gaps (…). The age limit will be lowered to 36 years starting Wednesday," he told Canal N on Sunday.
Additionally, the high-ranking official reported that a new Vaccinathon will be held next weekend, as of Saturday in the morning, which will prioritize the regions where this measure has not been implemented yet.
"The vaccination drive will take place on Saturday and Sunday. The regions where a Vaccinathon has not yet been implemented will be included and privileged this time. Let us bear in mind that it (
the Vaccinathon) has been conducted in 15 regions already, but there are regions where these campaigns are still necessary," he noted.
The health sector's head explained that, during this special vaccination drive, people will get the Sinopharm vaccine as first dose, while the Pfizer jab will be used to complete the second doses if recipients apply.
In this sense, the government official remarked that both vaccines have a high level of protection against COVID-19, which will prevent serious complications from the disease.
In addition, the minister affirmed that
all the batches of the vaccines are distributed nationwide, and stressed the importance of receiving the two doses to ensure full protection.
"It would be useless to have a vaccinated population if most people receive only one dose. We have gone from 4.9 to 7.4 million people fully vaccinated in the past two weeks. We aim to have over 8 million people vaccinated with the second dose by the end of August," he stated.
(END) ACH/CVC/RMB
Published: 8/23/2021