Andina

Peru's Health Min: Signed commitments guarantee vaccination of entire population

Photo: ANDINA/Presidency of the Council of Ministers

Photo: ANDINA/Presidency of the Council of Ministers

14:38 | Lima, Feb. 19.

Peruvian Health Minister Oscar Ugarte on Friday affirmed that the contracts signed with the laboratories Sinopharm and Pfizer will guarantee the vaccination of the entire population against COVID-19.

During his presentation before Congress' COVID-19 Commission, the high-ranking official recalled that Peru had signed a commitment with the Chinese laboratory for 38 million vaccines, which will enable the vaccination of 19 million people.


"This is very important because it is the second contingent, apart from that of Sinopharm, which allows guaranteeing the vaccination (...) of our entire population," he expressed.

Likewise, the Cabinet member noted that Pfizer will send a batch of 250,000 doses (March), 800,000 (April), and others gradually thru the end of 2021.

Concerning the AstraZeneca vaccine, the Cabinet member pointed out that this laboratory offered a total of 6.55 million doses for the second half of this year, apart from those that will arrive via the COVAX Facility mechanism.

The minister affirmed that negotiations with the Gamaleya Institute of Russia remain in place, adding that other vaccines are also being considered. However, no additional comments can be made on the matter yet.

"With the subtotal of vaccines that could arrive thru July, if that (goal) is met, we could be covering 61% of the population, keeping the rest for the second half; hopefully, the remainder can be covered during that period," he said.

Frontline healthcare workers


(END) JCC/CVC/MVB

Published: 2/19/2021