Paraguay receives last batch donated by Qatar to boost vaccination campaign

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Foreign Ministry announced the delivery of the cargo early this morning at the Asunción international airport and within the framework of cooperation between the two governments.

“This cooperation represents solidarity and a testament to the excellent bilateral relations between both countries, while reaffirming the spirit of brotherhood between nations in the face of the challenges both face in the current health context,” said the Foreign Ministry’s press release.

Paraguay received the first batch part of this cooperation (99,600 doses) in early June, initially intended to vaccinate pregnant women and later people over 50 years of age.

With respect to this last batch, the Ministry of Health said “it will be intended for the population in general” and that its administration schedule will soon be disclosed to the public.

The batch was delivered at a time when the country is experiencing a slowdown in the vaccination campaign due to a shortage of doses, which Paraguay has been receiving as donations from other countries.

With a population of just over 7 million, the Ministry has so far vaccinated some 2,300,000 people, with one or two doses.

Also as part of international cooperation, the Ministry this week received 7 solar-powered refrigerators from the Government of Japan and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) that will enable storage of 1,400,000 vaccines in remote areas.

The donation, worth some US$2.4 million, will benefit 1.5 million people in areas of difficult access, the Ministry said.

The government also pointed out that Paraguay is on the list of the 50 countries to receive the pediatric doses developed by U.S. Pfizer for the vaccination of children under 12 years of age.

In terms of epidemiological indicators, Paraguay has for weeks been recording a sustained decline in the number of cases, although the government is alerting to a potential upsurge due to possible entry of new variants of the disease.

However, the daily number of deaths continues to decline, as was the case on Wednesday with 18 deaths and 86 positive cases, according to the Ministry’s report for the day.

The total number of deaths reaches 15,785 since the first case was detected in March last year, with 458,614 positive and 437,598 recovered cases.