Venezuela Announces New Vaccination Protocol for People Over 50 Years of Age

As of Monday, August 30, some Venezuelans will begin to receive COVID-19 vaccinations without an appointment, as required to date, through the Patria platform. This option will be extended to Venezuelans over 50 years of age, according to policies defined by the authorities.

For this reason, Vice President Delcy Rodríguez announced that between August 30 and September 5, those people over 60 years of age who have not yet been vaccinated can go to any vaccination center, and the vaccine will be available for them, without appointment.

“We need to finish vaccinating those over 60, because they are known to be our most vulnerable population,” the Venezuelan vice president said emphatically.

Then, as of September 5, the possibility will be opened for all people over 50 years of age to be vaccinated without having to wait for a call via text message to confirm their appointment. These citizens can receive vaccinations at any facility designated for this purpose by Venezuelan health authorities.

“We have asked Minister for Health Carlos Alvarado to extend the vaccination shifts, morning, noon and night, so that we can meet this goal of accelerating and expanding the process,” said Delcy Rodríguez. She added that vaccination facilities will be installed in areas with a high concentration of people, such as municipal markets.

Delta variant alert
Similarly, the executive vice president recalled that President Nicolás Maduro had alerted the population a few hours earlier to the impact that the Delta variant is having in different parts of the country. She asserted that in the capital region these tasks will be intensified even more, because it is the geographical area with the greatest verified circulation of the highly contagious variant.

“We are expanding and accelerating the mass vaccination process,” said Rodríguez, reporting that in the states with the highest incidence of positive cases, the number of doses applied will triple.

#EnFotos || Vicepdta. @delcyrodriguezv durante inspección en el centro de vacunación ubicado en el CDI Amelia Blanco: Hemos decidido hacer unos anuncios muy importantes.#30Ago #FlexibilizaciónConsciente pic.twitter.com/VSMWZvJvPf

— Vicepresidencia Vzla (@ViceVenezuela) August 30, 2021

Rodriguez confirmed that the goal is to raise the figures to 300,000 vaccinated per day until Venezuela meets its goal of immunizing 70% of the total population—equivalent to 20 million inhabitants.

Finally, she reiterated that Venezuela echoes the complaints issued by the World Health Organization (WHO) regarding the unequal distribution of vaccines, a consequence of the hoarding policies promoted and practiced by capitalist governments in North America and Europe.

“Our call is for all peoples have access to the vaccine,” said Rodríguez. “That universal access be truly provided, that the world’s vaccines should not continue to be concentrated in a handful of countries.”

Featured image: Venezuelans in line waiting to be vaccinated. Photo courtesy of Twitter/@ViceVenezuela.

(RedRadioVE) by José Manuel Blanco Díaz

Translation: Orinoco Tribune

OT/JRE/SL