Irene Hartmann
09/18/2021 6:00 AM
Clarín.com
Society
Updated 09/18/2021 6:00 AM
People in very dissimilar situations have been complaining about an issue that unites them: they say they feel discriminated against because, although they
were vaccinated against
Covid
, they do not have the vaccination certificate
issued by the Argentine State through the
My Argentina
platform
.
They are more than 30,000.
Either they traveled abroad to get immunized or participated in phase 3 studies.
Clarín
spoke with
Sonia Tarragona
, head of the Cabinet of the Ministry of Health of the Nation, a portfolio that, despite the political earthquake that has the population in suspense from the PASO, continues to lead Minister Carla Vizzotti.
The sustenance of these lines is a series of talks that this medium had with people in those situations, obfuscated by not having their official vaccination certificate.
In addition, they spoke with two medical directors of different phase 3 investigations, who were angry at an alleged parsimony or official rejection, which has
"left out"
the volunteers of these trials.
In other words, the enrollees demand that the laboratories appear in the
Nomivac
- the national vaccination registry - in order to have their certificate against the coronavirus, and the laboratories, in turn, blame the Ministry.
The back of the vaccination certificate issued by the State and which can be downloaded from the Mi Argentina platform.
Variety
Some of the following situations seem incomparable, but they are not quite.
1. There is both
the one who traveled to the United States for example to
get vaccinated when doses were most lacking here (February to May, to define a critical period), as well as the one who could afford the trip and simply preferred the messenger RNA technology vaccines.
In this group there are those who received doses of brands already approved by ANMAT (such as Moderna and Pfizer) and others who were immunized with others such as Janssen, which (no one fully understands why, but) has been in the local approval process for months.
2. A second group is made up of
foreigners who were immunized in Argentina
and who are not settled, that is, they do not have ID.
They are employees of embassies, diplomats or people who,
for ho or b
, while in the country for a few months, were able to get vaccinated.
Health personnel are working on a phase 3 clinical study done at the Military Hospital.
Photo: Rafael Mario Quinteros
3. The third group is the most important: it is represented by
at least 28,000 people
, the
volunteers
from different
phase 3
studies
.
They are subdivided between those who received doses of a vaccine approved in Argentina and those who did not.
Unlike the 29 million individuals who were immunized in the official campaign, none of the people mentioned has a vaccination certificate issued by the State.
This translates into a
difficulty in traveling
to countries like Spain, which require an official certificate of complete vaccination.
Vaccinated in Miami
Sonia Tarragona
explained to
Clarín
that they are aware of the situation and working on the issue.
Actually, in “the” issues, since they are “different situations”.
On the one hand, he recalled that "My Argentina is a site that only extends official certificates to Argentines, residents or naturalized citizens, be it the National Identity Document or the driver's license ... those certificates are valid per se."
An image from last May, when the free vaccination began on the beaches of Miami.
Those vaccinated abroad (a number of people that Tarragona could not estimate) represent a difficulty, given the
inability of the Government to "access the original registry to validate those certificates
.
"
“We cannot enter the database of another country to check that the person has been vaccinated under the conditions stated in their record.
And we do not know if it is original or not, that is, we cannot guarantee its veracity ”, he evaluated.
The solution is not that simple.
On the one hand, “it is complex and it happens to all countries, so there is an
exchange of certificate models
, to find out which model each country uses.
But, even so, the problem of
how to certify the veracity
of the role presented by the person
remains
”.
As long as there is no agreed international approval, the Government is considering a
temporary
or intermediate
solution
.
“
That the person upload their vaccination data by themselves
, since we cannot
collect them
from any basis.
In this way, later it could be downloaded, not a vaccination certificate, but at least a
proof
that the data was uploaded, as if it were an affidavit and the State registers that this procedure was carried out, ”he said.
What use would that constancy be?
A
level internal
, perhaps: "Right now is
not requested, but in the future could be asked for the proof of immunization
participate in certain activities
, like going to a concert, for example.
This record
would be valid in such cases
.
From now on, uploading data would be voluntary.
Whoever believes it is useful will do it ”.
Phase 3 volunteers
"Those vaccinated in clinical trials are another complex issue," summarized Tarragona, referring to the more than 28,000 people who were vaccinated in clinical studies by Janssen, Pfizer, Sinopharm, Cansino, Curevac and Medicago, and who
are not listed in the Nomivac
.
First of all, “for their data to be disclosed, they have to
give consent
because the studies are absolutely
confidential
.
Laboratories cannot open the list of people just like that and that is why these people are not loaded in our registry ”.
Clinical study of the Canadian Medicago vaccine, at the Central Military Hospital.
Photo: Rafael Mario Quinteros
One would think that the rule is idle.
Who wouldn't want to have their vaccination certificate?
It is not so simple: people who participated in clinical trials of vaccines not recognized by the European Union, for example, might prefer to be vaccinated - with a second complete schedule - with the doses of the official campaign.
If your name is on the Nomivac, that option is diluted.
Tarragona explained that they have been working on how to resolve this issue for months and almost at the end of this note he contacted
Clarín
to anticipate that "next
week a special system will be operational
so that those who participated in clinical trials and so wish, can sign up and get your certificates. "
"
Coordination with the principal investigators of the clinical trials
for the validations has already been completed," the official confirmed, and explained that everything "will come out by resolution of the Minister."
In relation to the participants in studies of vaccines not approved in Argentina, a vaccine like Janssen (approved by the FDA) is not the same as one like Curevac (not yet approved by any regulatory body in the world).
Of this, Tarragona said that "all the situations are being evaluated".
But "all situations" includes (to have the official certificate)
only people with Argentine DNI
.
Non-resident foreigners vaccinated in the country, as they do not have ID, will remain outside the Nomivac and without an official certificate.
They must comply with the card of the vaccinator on duty.
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