Perú exigirá tres dosis de vacuna a mayores de 50 años /Peru: People aged above 50 must hold three-dose vaccination card to enter closed premises
LIMA.- El Gobierno de Perú anunció este miércoles que las personas mayores de 50 años deberán acreditar desde el próximo 23 de enero que han recibido tres dosis de las vacunas contra la covid-19 para poder ingresar a espacios públicos cerrados en el país.
El ministro de Salud, Hernando Cevallos, informó que la medida fue aprobada este miércoles por el Consejo de Ministros para intentar frenar el incremento de contagios de la enfermedad y proteger a los ciudadanos considerados más vulnerables.
«En el caso de las personas mayores de 50 años, deben presentar su dosis de refuerzo, porque esta pandemia afecta a los no vacunados y a las personas con comorbilidades. Tenemos que proteger a este sector», señaló.
Cevallos dijo que actualmente ya son más de 5,5 millones de personas las que han recibido las tres dosis en el país, de las que el 53,3 % son mayores de 60 años y con comorbilidades.
El ministro indicó que también se mantendrá la obligación de que los mayores de 18 años y menores de 50 cuenten con dos dosis para poder ingresar a lugares públicos cerrados.
En ese sentido, remarcó que en su país se está presentando un gran incremento del impacto de la epidemia, ya que se ha pasado en poco tiempo de 26.000 a 81.000 casos detectados por semana.
Al referirse a la campaña nacional de vacunación, precisó que la cobertura de la población objetivo, desde los 12 años, que ha recibido dos dosis se ha incrementado al 83,7 % y la que tiene una dosis alcanza al 88,9 %.
«Más del 90 % de los pacientes que han fallecido son no vacunados o tuvieron vacunación incompleta. El no vacunarse es el sector que está llenando las unidades de cuidados intensivos», alertó.
Las autoridades sanitarias de Perú también se aprestan a presentar el protocolo de vacunación que se empleará para aplicar en los próximos días la vacuna a los niños de 5 a 11 años.
A pesar del gran incremento de casos, el Ministerio de Salud (Minsa) también confirmó este miércoles que se ha decidido reducir de 14 a 10 días el período de aislamiento que debe cumplir una persona contagiada con el coronavirus en Lima y el Callao, donde domina ampliamente la variante ómicron.
EFE
Peru: Over 50 million COVID-19 Peru: People aged above 50 must hold three-dose vaccination card to enter closed premisesvaccine doses applied
Starting January 23, people over 50 years of age must prove having received the third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine to be allowed to enter closed public spaces, Health Minister Hernando Cevallos announced on Wednesday.
The government official said the measure —to be in force nationwide— was approved this morning by the Council of Ministers as a means to stop the increase in cases and protect the populations deemed as vulnerable.
According to the Health minister, cases have climbed from 26,000 to 81,000 per week.
“Who is affected by this pandemic? Just by visiting Intensive Care Units we witness that it mainly affects those who are not vaccinated and vulnerable people, even children. Adults aged above 50 and 60 who are not immunized also become affected,” he indicated.
The high-ranking official reiterated that the third dose generates a protection rate close to 75%, adding that more than 5 million people in Peru have already received it.
In this sense, he reminded citizens that more than 90% of patients who have died from COVID-19, as well as 90% of patients who are in ICU beds, had not been vaccinated or merely received one dose.
The Cabinet member indicated that the latest measure intends to protect people from this age group in the midst of this significant increase in Omicron-related infections.
“They must have (received) the booster dose so as to be allowed to enter public places from the date this decree comes into force,” he emphasized.
Citizens aged above 18
It must be noted that the provision, which obliges people aged above 18 to present their vaccination cards to prove having received two vaccine doses to enter closed places, will remain in force.
Quarantine
The physician confirmed that the Health Ministry (Minsa) has determined to reduce the quarantine time that a person infected with the virus must comply with —from 14 to 10 days for those in Lima Metropolitan Area and Callao region.
Concerning other areas, Minister Cevallos said that Minsa’s Strategic Diseases Directorate will be in charge of monitoring the presence and evolution of the Omicron variant to find out if the 10-day isolation period also applies to other provinces.
Moreover, he explained that —for now— it has been decided to include Lima and Callao because there is an important record of Omicron cases, unlike other regions, where Delta remains the predominant variant.
High alert
Lastly, the Cabinet member reported that the Council of Ministers decided to include 35 provinces under high alert, adding that restrictions and capacity limits are the same as those established in the Supreme Decree which declares the state of national emergency due to the pandemic.
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