Since the beginning of its administration in Peru, more than 171,000 people have already received the
The
Ministry of Health (Minsa) explains who can receive it, what brands of vaccines are being administered, and after how long is it necessary to be inoculated with the fourth dose.
On April 2, adults over 70 years of age and people with comorbidities started to receive the fourth dose in Lima Metropolitan Area and Callao region, but now its administration has been expanded nationwide (same age group), thus joining health personnel since April 11.
Minsa's Immunizations Director Maria Elena Martinez specified that the fourth dose is not only being administered to people aged above 70 and health personnel, but also to people with comorbidities such as cancer, HIV, and transplant patients, or those suffering from orphan or rare diseases.
"There are 1.5 million people over 70 years of age. Nearly 500,000 people (in this age group) are due to receive the fourth dose in April. Afterwards, we are going to start with other age groups as we have done with previous doses," she told
Andina news agency.
After how long?
Martinez clarified that the protocol approved by Minsa indicates that people must receive the fourth dose of the COVID-19 vaccine after five months have elapsed since third dose.
According to Minsa, following five months of the third dose, antibodies against COVID-19 begin to decrease. Therefore, the fourth dose contributes to increasing the defenses, thus avoiding serious forms of the disease.
What brands of vaccines are being administered?
The official explained that the protocol approved by Minsa indicates that this fourth dose comes from Pfizer or Moderna laboratories, since studies have shown that they are safe and effective.
Along these lines, Martinez reported that clinical trials by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) indicate that the fourth dose should be applied with the Pfizer and Moderna vaccination platforms.
In this regard, Minsa reported that Peru relies on large batch of Moderna vaccine doses, which has just arrived in the country, adding that it has a long period of validity.
"All vaccines have an efficacy level above 90%; these are the vaccines that the Peruvian Government has acquired: Sinopharm, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, and now Moderna," Martinez underlined.
In addition, she reported that, according to recent studies, the combination of vaccines from different brands leads to better protection against COVID-19.
(END) LIT/RMB/MVB