Puerto Rico National Guard will not be able to distribute vaccines

Puerto Rico, closer to herd immunity than the rest of the US 3:06

(CNN Spanish) -

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States (CDC, for its acronym in English) canceled with immediate effect the authorization they had granted to the National Guard of Puerto Rico to provide vaccines on the island against covid-19.

The decision was made after the CDC received a report from the US Department of Health inspector general that revealed that the Puerto Rico National Guard administered Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna vaccines to children under 16 between February and July 2021. years before it was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration.

The determination and the reasons were communicated to José Reyes, adjutant general of the National Guard, and Iris Cardona, chief medical officer of the Puerto Rico Department of Health, through a letter dated December 6 and signed by Kristin Pope. , deputy director of the CDC.

In the letter, the CDC also warns that the doses used for minors were the recommended amounts for those over 16 years of age in the case of Pfizer, and for those over 18, in the case of Moderna.

The Governor of Puerto Rico, Pedro Pierluisi, confirmed this Tuesday that the Department of Health will from now on be in charge of the distribution and administration of vaccines against covid-19.

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The government reported through a press release that providers certified and authorized by the Department of Health will be receiving the biological products necessary to continue the effort and increase vaccination coverage.

“We are aware of the investigation into isolated incidents of vaccination of minors, so we continue to be zealous and above all rigorous in the control of the processes carried out by all our suppliers.

It is extremely important to comply with the requirements of the Vaccination Program and all the regulations of the Federal Government ”, stated in the Cardona document.

The Department of Health stressed that it will not issue additional comments on the matter.

For his part, José Reyes, adjutant general of the Puerto Rico National Guard, confirmed that he received a communication from the CDC in Atlanta where he was notified of the non-renewal of the license or temporary permit, as a result of the vaccination of children close to compliance. 12 years.

"Now the Department of Health, with more than 900 providers, will be in charge of this vaccination stage that includes children 5 years of age and older, as well as the administration of third doses to the population," Reyes said.

"The GNPR will continue to support the Department of Health by conducting medical screening at airports."

During the busiest months, the GNPR administered vaccination centers in San Juan, Bayamón, Caguas, Arecibo, Ponce, Barranquitas, Humacao, Mayagüez, and Trujillo Alto, while carrying out operations at all airports and docks in the country.

Reyes explained that the CDC authorization was limited.

“At the beginning of the emergency caused by the covid-19 pandemic, the Puerto Rico National Guard received a temporary permit from the CDC to administer vaccines on the island until December 9, 2021, to accelerate and expand the immunization process.

A little over three months ago we finished operations in the various vaccination centers that we administered around the island.

At that time, 83 percent of the eligible population had already been fully vaccinated ”.

Covid-19 vaccines