The United States will announce in two weeks the mechanism it will use to donate 80 million vaccines against the novel Coronavirus to developing countries that have requested the cooperation and donations of President Joe Biden.
This was announced by the Secretary of State of that country, Antony Blinken, during the press conference after his meeting with the President of the Republic, Carlos Alvarado, on June 1st.
“We are talking about vaccines and COVID-19 relief in this broader fight we are waging. You heard President Biden a couple of weeks ago announce that we will make around 80 million doses available globally at that they will have access between now and the end of June.
“In the next week, in one to two weeks, we will announce the process by which we will distribute these vaccines, the criteria to be used, among other things. We are going to focus on equity, an equitable distribution of vaccines, basing it in science and are to work in coordination with Covax (Global Access Fund for Covid-19 Vaccines) and we will distribute the vaccines without political requirements from those who receive them,” explained the head of US diplomacy. Blinken recalled that the United States provided Costa Rica with $ 4 million in personal protective equipment, medical and hygiene supplies, as well as mobile hospitals.
President Alvarado expressed his appreciation to the Biden administration
“Obviously, the people of Costa Rica, are waiting for the announcements that come soon in relation to these vaccines,” said the President. Likewise, he mentioned that for the moment the country will continue with its immunization process in charge of the Costa Rican Social Security Fund (CCSS).
Vaccine availability
The Government of the Republic bought 9,130,725 doses of vaccines for 4,565,362 inhabitants. That number of people represents 100% of the population over 12 years of age.
Of the total, 6,000,075 correspond to vaccines purchased from the American pharmaceutical company Pfizer and the German laboratory BioNTech for a total of $ 72,013,500 (includes the original contract and two addenda).
The rest are distributed in 1,092,000 of the product developed by the AstraZeneca company and the University of Oxford, both in the United Kingdom, for $ 5,460,000; as well as 2,037,600 acquired through the Global Access Fund for Covid-19 Vaccines for $ 21,496,680. In total, the Government invested $ 98,970,180 in vaccines plus $ 1,133,405 in supplies, such as freezers for storing biologicals.
Until May 25th, 2,148,525 doses arrived -23.53% -. Of these, 1,663,704 doses have been applied, according to a projection given this May 31st by the Minister of Health, Daniel Salas, during an interpellation in the Plenary of the Legislative Assembly.
