Luis Escobar / La Paz
High school graduates who were not vaccinated against covid will not be able to attend the graduation ceremony. The same will happen with young people who want to participate in the discharge ceremony of a barracks. The measures are part of the proposal enlisted by the La Paz Departmental Health Service (Headquarters) in coordination with the education authorities. This plan seeks to raise the immunization rates of this age group.
The technical director of the La Paz headquarters, Mayber Aparicio, said that “if they do not have vaccines,” they will not be able to carry out promotional or licensing acts from the barracks for conscripts and pre-military. “We are working with the Seduca (Departmental Service of Education) and the Ministry of Education to not allow events with people who were not vaccinated,” said the authority.
“The vaccine is not mandatory. However, any activity that involves any agglomeration of the population is regulated. Therefore, as a department, we do protect the health of all people, ”said Aparicio.
This measure is not yet in force because the graduation acts of the schools are regulated by the Ministry of Education and the Seduca. The La Paz headquarters already has a rapprochement with both institutions in favor of this restriction.
“They asked us for a report and we consider that the following week (this action) will take effect. This measure will be important for promotion events at the secondary level in the department of La Paz, ”said Aparicio.
The Headquarters director reported that people who do not get vaccinated could become “reservoirs” of viruses. They can affect other people who did get the doses. “So, we will not allow them not to be vaccinated and to be a risk factor for those who are protecting themselves against covid,” he said.
This measure will also be assumed by the low percentage of application of vaccines to this age group. According to data from the La Paz headquarters, on the best of days up to 2,000 people were immunized, when they planned to serve 4,000.
“We had calculated (to immunize) 120 thousand adolescents of 16 and 17 years old. However, in our epidemiological report we have vaccinated 15,000 people despite all the efforts we are making and the agreements with Seduca to indicate that the dose is important. These objectives are not being achieved ”, explained Aparicio.
The Regional Health Service (Seres) of El Alto recognized that the percentage of immunization for this group is very low. A report shows that the group of 16 and 17 years, vaccinated with the Pfizer, only reached 4.3%. This figure represents 2,035 vaccinated out of the 47,000 people who are part of the target population.
Against this background, Headquarters is carrying out a more aggressive immunization campaign. He installed vaccination points in the same educational establishments and went to the barracks to continue applying the doses to young people of 16 and 17 years of age.
The inoculants are available in the health centers of the different neighborhoods of the city, but the application rates in these places are even lower.
Greater coordination
On Tuesday, the Executive extended vaccination to adolescents between 12 and 15 years old. To implement this plan, the national government issued an instruction manual for the vaccination of this new age group.
In the document, the Executive asked the Headquarters to “coordinate” with school boards, Departmental Education Services (Seduca), the District Education Directorates and the three branches of the Armed Forces to achieve a greater scope.
The instructions of the Ministry of Health seeks to use the inoculants to the maximum and reduce the percentage of loss. “(The Venues must) carry out the distribution and use of the anticovid vaccines under the FIFO principle. First to expire, first to
get out. (This measure is assumed) considering that vaccines have variable expiration periods and must be used based on their expiration date, ”the document reads.
