Low attendance at vaccination centers worries the Paraguayan government “too much”

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Paraguayan Minister of Health, Julio Borba, commented this Friday that the low attendance at vaccination centers “is of great concern” to the portfolio, with an average daily attendance of 50 or 55% of registered people, at the moment corresponding to the older adult population.

“That is what is striking; people registered but still did not go to get vaccinated,” Borba told the media during the commemoration of the 210th anniversary of the independence of the South American country.

The minister explained that this situation might be due to the “campaigns against” vaccination or that the children or grandchildren often do the registration. When the time comes, the vaccine recipient does not want to go.

The Health Surveillance Directorate will start in the next few days to call the registered persons who did not go to their appointment to “locate them and see why they were not vaccinated”, as Borba said.

The minister also acknowledged that the Ministry of Health should intensify awareness campaigns so that the population goes to be vaccinated and loses the fear transmitted by anti-vaccine messages.

Paraguay started its vaccination plan in February 2021 with healthcare personnel and then moved on to older adults, now from 70 and above.

According to Ministry of Health data, the total number of vaccinated to date is 189,585 people who have received at least one dose.

Borba said that the Ministry would consider lowering the age to 68 or 65 years, but that decision will depend on the stock of vaccines and the arrival of new doses.

A batch of 40,000 doses of Sputnik V purchased from Russia, out of a contract of one million, is expected to be received this Friday, of which only 24,000 vaccines have arrived.

The government also expects to receive doses from Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, India, and part of the massive outstanding allocation from the Covax mechanism shortly.

However, the authorities have adopted a cautious position when talking about the arrival of vaccines, as the announced deliveries have been postponed on several occasions.