Attendance at vaccination centers gains momentum in Haiti’s capital city

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The pace of vaccination against covid-19 picked up momentum Monday at health centers in Port-au-Prince, after few people turned out to be injected with the compound last weekend, when immunization began in the country.

The Saint Damien Hospital, in the Tabarre district, was much busier on Monday than last Saturday, when a pilot vaccination day was held, which in this first stage is dedicated to health workers and elderly or vulnerable people.

Sammy Janvier, diabetic, explained to Efe after receiving the prick that “it was very fast, although it stung a little”.

He was very aware of the importance of the vaccine “to be safe from covid”, although he said he will continue to wear a mask and wash his hands to take care of himself and those around him.

Meanwhile, Alexander, a Cuban who has been living in Haiti for twelve years, filled out the consent form to receive the compound, after which he had to wait about 20 minutes to be vaccinated.

A short wait, considering that “for some time” he had been “worried” about whether the vaccine would arrive in Haiti or not, which happened last Wednesday, when the country received the first shipment of the compound from Moderna, which began to be inoculated on Friday.

He and his wife wanted to get vaccinated soon, concerned about the spike in infections and deaths in the country, which have doubled since the beginning of May, and the “people are not taking care of themselves in the streets.

Nurse Nadége Lamotte said she was satisfied with how the vaccination was progressing.

“It’s the second day and we are making progress. On the first day we received about 40 people, but today we are practically overflowing,” she said.

The latest bulletin of the Ministry of Public Health puts the number of deaths in Haiti at 508 as of last Saturday after adding 21 new deaths to the official count, while the total number of confirmed cases is 19,547, which is 173 more than the previous official figure, corresponding to June 6.

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