Peru: Vaccination against COVID-19 to be composed of three phases

Ministerial Resolution No. 848-2020-Minsa indicates that said technical document aims to contribute to reducing morbidity and mortality linked to the novel coronavirus, within the framework of prevention and containment strategies against the pandemic, with active and committed citizens.

According to the regulation, immunization will be composed of the following phases: The first phase aims to protect the integrity of the health system; the second sets the goal of reducing morbidity and mortality in the population at highest risk; and the third phase seeks to reduce contagion and generate herd immunity.

Initially, it will comprise health personnel (from the public and private sectors); members of the Armed Forces, Peruvian National Police, firefighter department, Red Cross, municipal police, brigades; security and cleaning personnel; medical school students; plus staff at polling stations.

Afterwards, senior citizens; people with comorbidities; members of native and indigenous communities; National Penitentiary Institute (INPE) personnel; and people deprived of liberty will be immunized, followed by the population aged between 18 and 59.

The Health sector projected a budget of more than S/3 billion (about US$835.6 million) for the years 2020 and 2021 to provide high-quality vaccines, guaranteeing their safety, preservation, administration, and adequate management, as well as the timely demand and adherence of the population to immunization.

To do this, the Rapid Vaccine Monitoring (MRV) will be carried out as a constant supervision tool and a strategy to identify —in a timely manner— the population pending immunization and to address the reasons for non-vaccination, if that occurs.

Vaccination will be carried out at health establishments and strategic vaccination points considering the micro-planning of each Directorate of Integrated Health Networks (Diris), Regional Health Management (Geresa) Office, and Regional Health Directorate (Diresa), in addition to subsectors.

By joining efforts, it is essential to strengthen the participation of regional and local authorities in conjunction with the organized community, as well as optimize the implementation of strategies aimed at socializing information and identifying the target population for immunization, in accordance with the provisions generated by the Peruvian State.

It should be noted that the group most affected by this pandemic is that of adults (57.70% of cases), followed by youth (18.61%) and older adults (17.69%). The highest number of deaths is registered among the elderly (69.86%), followed by adults (28.82%).

Currently, more than 140 vaccines against COVID-19 are being developed around the world that are in pre-clinical phases, and 23 potential ones are in the stage of clinical trials, which are being developed by different production platforms.