The Minister of Health, Carolina Corco, announced the arrival of vaccines against monkeypox in the country

During a press conference held in the facilities of the Ministry of Health, the Minister of that Portfolio, Carolina Corcho, made several announcements about the vaccination operation that will be carried out to counter the monkeypox virus in Colombia.

On the one hand, He confirmed that 25,000 doses would arrive as a donation from the Government of Japan. In fact, the Japanese Ambassador to Colombia, Takasugi Masahiro, attended the press conference.

“We have signed a cooperation agreement to donate thousands of doses of vaccine that will be used for monkeypox,” said Minister Corco.

The official confirmed that she has the support of the foreign ministries of the two countries for this purpose. In addition, he indicated that the vaccination will not be massive and stressed that it is not a process comparable to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This vaccine was developed from a Japanese pharmaceutical company in a joint effort between academia, industry, and the Japanese government.”Ambassador concluded. He said that the donation of special needles is planned to ensure the vaccination process.

The vaccine, called LC16M8, was developed by Chiba Serum and was originally used to prevent smallpox in Japan in the 1970s. It has been modified to prevent monkeypox, and it is considered a third generation and has few side effects.

Discussed purchase

Although Minister Corco had initially announced that about 5,000 doses against monkeypox would arrive in the country, the negotiation process became tangled.

however, Many critics of the current government have pointed out that the response of the health ministerial portfolio has been delayed and that getting vaccines has taken too long. This is not only because other countries such as Chile, Brazil and Peru got their vaccines early, but also because the peak of monkeypox infection seems to have passed.

This fact is also recognized by the national government. Minister Corcho warned of a decline. This was indicated by epidemiologist Carlos Alvarez, who is the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) representative for the COVID-19 response in Colombia.

Alvarez indicated that two immunization strategies should be implemented: one that focuses on people who are at risk and have risky behaviors that “could facilitate transmission”. The other strategy focuses on people who have been exposed to the virus and are in close contact with people who have tested positive for monkeypox.

According to the latest epidemiological update by the National Institute of Health (INS) on Monday, November 28, the country recorded only 20 new cases of monkeypox in the past week. This was one of the lowest reports since the virus began spreading in the national territory. In the week immediately prior, 75 new infections were reported. The epidemiological deterioration is evident, with hundreds of cases reported weekly in previous bulletins.

For a country of more than 50 million people, these numbers are very small, even more so compared to other infectious diseases such as Covid-19, dengue or influenza, which have left tens of thousands of people infected this year.

The severity of the disease remains mild, as no deaths have been reported as a result of the infection. Instead, 37 patients were reported to be hospitalized at the start of the week.

By gender, the majority of sufferers are still men, as they collect 96% of cases. Affected women only 3%.

Meanwhile, the health authorities’ recommendations to citizens continue to emphasize self-care and timely diagnosis.

To do this, it is essential that patients quickly recognize the symptoms that give them a monkeypox rash.