The race got underway last week to vaccinate residents and staff in Care Homes across the Vega Baja against coronavirus, with the Health Departments in Orihuela and Torrevieja expecting to complete the process by Monday.
Vaccinations also continue apace of front line staff working in hospitals and medical centres in both Orihuela and Torrevieja, where over 3,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine was administered over the weekend.
Dr. Eva Baró, Manager of the Torrevieja Health Department, oversaw the process at the University Hospital where she told reporters, “The protection of our professionals is vital to continue providing quality health care to our population, hence the need for them to be at the head of the queue”.
The first recipient of the vaccination in Orihuela Costa was 98-year old Pamela Sullivan, who got her first dosage in the Savia residence of the third age in Villamartin.
The Orihuela Councillor for Health, José Galiano, was on hand to see the process along with the director of the Savia residence, María Luz Serrano.
Horadada was the first health department in the region to vaccinate health workers, including Council janitors who work in outlying clinics.
The first person vaccinated at the town’s health centre was Juan Carlos Santos, a nursing coordinator while the first worker from the Town Council was Andrés Martínez.
Both the Mayor, José María Pérez, and the councillor for health, Nieves Moreno, were present at both of the present in the vaccination processes.
On Saturday morning, vaccinations got underway at the Casaverde Care Home, also in Pilar de la Horadada, where 124 residents, 98.5 percent of the total, along with almost 90 percent of the heath staff, received their first dose of the vaccine. Carmen Leonard was the first resident to be vaccinated and Marian Rubio the first member of staff.
Adrián de Paz, Technical and Quality Director of the Casaverde Group, who has been coordinating the operation together with Public Health, said that “without a doubt we are now at the end of what has been a very difficult period”. “It is a long-awaited moment that has been reflected in the large number of residents and staff that have received the vaccines.”
Meanwhile, Dr. Pepe Cano, the director of Public Health in Orihuela, believes that the vaccination process in Vega Baja is more advanced than across the rest of the country, much of which has been put on hold during storm Filomena.
The vaccination plan prioritises residents of care homes and their staff; then primary care health and hospitals. After that it will be the turn of elderly people who live at home, people at risk with pathologies; and then, finally, the general population, according to their age.
Dr. Cano believes that “if the vaccination rate continues at it’s present rate, the general population will start getting their vaccinations during February.”
