The Minister of Health of Uruguay: "We have millions of vaccines saved" | CNN

Daniel Salinas, Minister of Health of Uruguay.

(Photo of Télam).

(CNN Radio Argentina) - Daniel Salinas

, Minister of Health of Uruguay, confirmed this Tuesday on

CNN Radio

that they have "millions of vaccines stored and in storage conditions" to continue with the operation to immunize the population against covid-19, despite the increase in cases and the request of medical and scientific organizations that demand urgent measures. 

"We have 347 thousand people vaccinated and 27 thousand to vaccinate today,"

said the head of the Uruguayan health portfolio in dialogue with

María Laura Santillán

on

CNN's La Mañana

, while guaranteeing "vaccines for everyone."

In this sense, Salinas recalled that the vaccination plan began on March 1 and followed "the details recommended by the World Health Organization", while admitting that

"Pfizer did not ask us for anything to reach an agreement with the vaccines ”.

“Health personnel were prioritized for the first two weeks and then we added the country's teaching personnel

.

Once we filled the vaccine load, those volunteers who signed up could be vaccinated if there were spaces available, "said the Uruguayan official, while he reported that,

in the case of nursing homes, they went to apply the doses" at home ”.

In addition, Salinas indicated that for Easter they opened “a quota for 18 to 70 years to be scheduled and we quickly filled it with 200 thousand registered.

There were people of those prioritized who, as the second dose fell on Thursday and Holy Friday, preferred to pass ”.

"I opened the doors to everyone who wants to get vaccinated," he

explained.

The variants of covid-19

“Uruguay is in the red zone and has a complex health situation.

We are working hard, but on the border (with Brazil) they are vaccinating at an important rate.

The situation is challenging and there is a problem of increasing cases.

The numbers of active cases are crossed with those of vaccination, ”he said.

Regarding the Manaus strain, which is expanding to some countries in South America, the Uruguayan Minister of Health said that "an interesting rapid diagnostic method was developed to test the new strains."

“We have to be extremely careful and continue vaccinating.

In five weeks we will have a million people vaccinated ”, he concluded.

Increase in cases and alert

Uruguay registered this Monday the day with the most infections and deaths from covid-19 since the pandemic began.

According to government data, the country had 2,700 new cases, bringing the total to 84,230.

Of that number, 68,983 have already recovered.

In terms of deaths, 19 deaths were reported, bringing the accumulated figure to 811.

The country's health authorities detected 24 infections with the variant of covid-19 identified in Brazil, P.1, in seven departments of Uruguay.