Costa Rica celebrated with joy and pride the start of immunization against COVID-19 with the vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech. Since this has been a tireless fight against the Pandemic which will allow them to protect thousands of Costa Ricans from the contagion of the Virus.
Placing the country as one of the pioneers in Latin America in starting with this important vaccination process since the initiative tends to slowly restore the tranquility of the population. Both the President of the Republic Carlos Alvarado and the health officials indicated that it is a sign of hope for the country.
Characteristics of the Pfizer Vaccine
It is given in two doses, 21 days apart. The protection against COVID-19 starts at least seven days after the second dose. The most common side effects are pain on injection, fatigue, muscle pain, fever, headache, and joint pain. Less common effects include itching, nausea, insomnia, enlarged lymph nodes, and limb pain.
It will be the first vaccine that uses the “messenger RNA” mechanism, which allows the coronavirus to be blocked when it tries to enter the cells of the body. It is 95% effective in preventing symptoms of COVID-19.
Minors will not be able to receive the vaccine, because there is no evidence of its effectiveness in this group, neither are pregnant women. It is stored at 70c, so “ultra cold” freezers are required to keep the vaccine in good condition.
At least seven other countries in the world have already started the vaccination stage. The United States, the United Kingdom, Israel, Russia, Mexico, Canada and China and of course Costa Rica, which is among the first countries to start this stage.
The first dose of the vaccine has already been applied
As previously stated, the first dose of the vaccine was applied to hospitalization and emergency personnel related to the direct care of patients with the Virus, in accordance with the immunization plan. At the end of this vaccination, the first group will also prioritize all people over 58 years of age, even if they do not have risk factors.
How effective is Pfizer’s vaccine against COVID-19 symptoms?
This vaccine went through all regulatory processes in a time never achieved before by other vaccines. Despite this, it has achieved a 95% effectiveness in reducing COVID-19 symptoms and presented a high security.
In a matter of five days, the company published its results of clinical trials with the vaccine, and on December 15 it received approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration. The arrival of the Pfizer vaccine marks the beginning of a new stage in the Pandemic, that hopefully will end soon.
