03/27/2021 11:17 AM
Clarín.com
Society
Updated 03/27/2021 11:32 AM
A couple of Aerolineas Argentinas flights will depart almost simultaneously from Ezeiza airport to Moscow and Beijing to search for two other shipments of vaccines, Sputnik V and Sinopharm, respectively.
The state airline company confirmed to
Clarín
the preparation of the flights, but indicated that the details will be known only this Sunday.
From what this newspaper learned, the aircraft would depart on Monday and Tuesday.
In addition, the details of what would be the first delivery of the promised COVAX fund vaccines is also expected in the next few hours.
The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) told this newspaper that "the COVAX mechanism has ensured that 21 countries in the region will receive the first batch of vaccines by the end of this week."
COVAX is an international mechanism promoted by the World Health Organization and other organizations through which it seeks to guarantee the provision of vaccines for all countries, even those that have less negotiating power with large laboratories.
Countries can buy doses for up to 20% of their population.
Although Argentina had made a reserve of 9 million doses, as the Ministry of Health reported in January, in principle it will receive
1.9 million doses between now and May.
The Sputnik V vaccines that arrived in the country this Friday.
Photo: Presidency.
COVAX deliveries in Latin America are coordinated by PAHO.
Most of the vaccines that are being distributed now, and all those that will arrive in Argentina, are from AstraZeneca and are being produced in a plant of the British company in South Korea.
From there they will travel by plane to Amsterdam, from where the distribution is made to the countries.
The last flight, the ninth, of Aerolineas Argentinas with a
new batch of doses of Sputnik V vaccines
against the coronavirus arrived in Ezeiza this Friday afternoon, where the Minister of Health, Carla Vizzotti, was waiting on the track.
Flight AR1064 that had departed at dawn on Thursday from Buenos Aires, landed
with
370 thousand doses of the Russian vaccine.
"There
are 370 thousand doses of component one
of the Sputnik V vaccine," said Vizzotti from the track, insisting on the importance of "having the largest number of people vaccinated."
Vizzotti closely followed the unloading of the doses together with the president of Aerolineas Argentinas,
Pablo Ceriani
.
Vizzotti arrived in Ezeiza after having participated in the Federal Health Council in which it was decided to defer the application of the second doses of the vaccines until three months.
"There was a federal consensus and scientific evidence to prioritize the first dose,
vaccinate as many people as possible
, defer the second dose for three months and work hard to accelerate the vaccination process with the aim of reducing mortality," said Vizzotti at a press conference.
The government's decision to defer the second dose affects the three vaccines that arrive in the country: Covax, Sinopharm and Sputnik, although it has a different second component, Vizzotti said.
The vaccines that arrived in the country are loaded onto a truck in Ezeiza.
Photo: Rafael Mario Quinteros
In addition, he announced that on Sunday doses of the Covax vaccine will arrive in the country and during the next week one million of the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine.
"With the news yesterday that the Sinopharm vaccine was recommended by the Anmat to also vaccinate those over 60 years of age and working to receive a number of Covax doses on Sunday and during the next week that million that we are working with Airlines and the whole team to bring them to Argentina, "said the minister.
Meanwhile, between this Friday and Saturday, the distribution of the 306,000 doses of component 1 of Sputnik V -the one that is applied to start the immunization plan- that arrived in Argentina on Monday will begin.
These vaccines will be used "to strengthen the inoculation of people over 70 years old," said a statement from the Presidency. With the 370,000 doses that arrived this Friday, Argentina will have 5,250,540.
According to the
Public Vaccination Monitor
, 4,197,945 vaccines have been distributed so far, and 3,474,415 have been applied.
It is also detailed that 2,824,344 people received the first dose and 650,071 the two.
GL
Look also
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Sinopharm vaccine: the Government says it is close to approving its use for those over 60