One million people have received Covid-19 shots in Costa Rica

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – A total of 1,012,339 people have received at least the first dose of the vaccine against covid-19, and 646,346 have the complete vaccination schedule in Costa Rica, a country of 5 million inhabitants, informed this Wednesday the Costa Rican Social Security Fund (CCSS).

The medical manager of the CCSS, Mario Ruiz, explained that as of June 1 at midday, the entity registers the application of 1,658,685 vaccines against covid-19.

According to the data, 1,233,816 doses of the vaccine have been applied (73%) in priority group 2, corresponding to people aged 58 years and older. Of these, 693,358 correspond to first doses and 540,458 to second doses.

Meanwhile, in group 1, made up of first responders and long-stay home staff, 228,049 doses of the vaccine have been accounted for. Of this total, 127,853 are first doses, and 100,196 are second doses.

According to official data, group 1 and people over 70 years of age have already reached 100% coverage with at least one dose.

In the case of people belonging to priority group 3 -those under 57 years of age with risk factors such as diabetes, hypertension, obesity, immunodeficiencies, among others- the authorities have registered 192,403 doses: 186,711 first doses and 5,692-second doses.

In addition, the CCSS has registered the application of 4,417 doses to people who are part of group 4. Among the latter, the application of 3,291 vaccines to teachers of the Ministry of Public Education, 29 to officials of private educational centers, and 1,097 to other officials of institutions such as Aqueducts and Sewers and municipal garbage collection services stand out.

“This is an important step to guarantee that the development of educational activities takes place in a safer environment for students, teachers, and administrative staff,” said the general manager of CCSS, Roberto Cervantes.

So far, the country has received 2,148,525 doses of vaccines: 1,812,525 are from Pfizer, 204,000 from AstraZeneca, and 132,000 delivered by the World Health Organization (WHO) Covax mechanism, manufactured by AstraZeneca.

Costa Rica has a contract with Pfizer for 6 million doses, one with AstraZeneca for 1 million doses, and another agreement with the Covax mechanism for 2 million doses, which will enable it to cover the entire population by 2021.

This country is going through a third wave of contagions that keeps hospitals with high occupancy levels and intensive care units overcrowded.

As of June 1, Costa Rica had 321,279 cases of covid-19 and 4,074 deaths.