Establishment candidate in Colombia’s elections linked to mafia
Far-right group goes from opposing communism to opposing...
ELN declares unilateral ceasefire ahead of Colombia’s elections
Colombia’s opposition dismisses US claim of ‘Russian threat’
Colombia’s drug policy a ‘failure’ that obstructed peace:...
Medellin government rejects ‘illegitimate’ interim mayor
Electoral violence in Colombia doubled since 2018
Colombia legalizes assisted suicide in historic ruling
Why Colombia’s upcoming elections could trigger a crisis
Colombia’s inspector general suspends mayors on election meddling...
  • About
  • Support
  • Newsletter
  • Contact
Colombia News | Colombia Reports
  • News
    • General
    • Analysis
    • War and peace
    • Elections
    • Economy
    • Culture
    • Sports
    • Science and Tech
  • Travel
    • General
    • Bogota
    • Medellin
    • Cali
    • Cartagena
    • Antioquia
    • Caribbean
    • Pacific
    • Coffee region
    • Amazon
    • Southwest Colombia
    • Northeast Colombia
    • Central Colombia
  • Data
    • Economy
    • Crime and security
    • War and peace
    • Development
    • Cities
    • Regions
    • Provinces
  • Profiles
    • Organized crime
    • Politics
    • Armed conflict
    • Economy
    • Sports
  • Lite
  • Opinion
(Image: President's Office)
News

Colombia receives 50k COVID shots as vaccination drive slowly takes shape

by Adriaan Alsema February 16, 2021

The first shipment of 50,000 vaccines against the coronavirus arrived in Colombia on Monday as the promised mass vaccination campaign slowly begins to take shape.

The first shots were welcomed as a celebrity by President Ivan Duque, who is facing fierce criticism over the allegedly late start of the vaccination campaign that seeks to combat the pandemic in Colombia.

The vaccines of multinational pharmaceutical company Pfizer will be administered after Saturday when the Health Ministry’s National Vaccination Plan kicks off.

This unprecedented vaccination drive seeks to give shots from multiple providers to some 35 million of Colombia’s 50 million inhabitants before the end of the year.

Over the weekend, another 192,000 shot of Chinese pharmaceutical firm Sinovac will arrive, Duque said Monday. More shots from international vaccine initiative COVAX have also been promised for this month.

The first shots will allegedly be distributed among first line healthcare workers and people older than 80, the group considered to be most at risk.

National Vaccination Plan schedule

Health Minister Fernando Ruiz said his plans are to gradually step up the intensity of the mass vaccination campaign in March after this month’s almost ceremonial start.

Both Ruiz and Duque have been reluctant to reveal specifics about the scheduled build-up of the vaccination campaign as the pharmaceutical companies’ distribution of shots has suffered delays worldwide.

 

coronavirus

Trending

  • Why Colombia’s upcoming elections could trigger a crisis

  • Colombia’s inspector general suspends mayors on election meddling charges

  • Medellin government rejects ‘illegitimate’ interim mayor

Related articles

  • COVID-19 deaths in Colombia highest since August last year

  • Colombia tightens travel regulations in response to coronavirus

  • Omnicron variant revives debate on Covid checks in Colombia

  • RSS

@2008-2019 - Colombia Reports. All Rights Reserved.
Powered by Digitale Zaken and Parrolabs


Back To Top