These provinces are well below the national figure. As of Tuesday, in the entire country there were 12.6 million with the complete vaccination scheme.
Near the end of 2021, there are four provinces that lag behind in the process of vaccination against COVID-19 and do not exceed 60% of its vaccinated population. These are the cases of Morona Santiago, which has half of its population with the complete vaccination scheme; They are followed by Pastaza, which has 59%; and Los Ríos and Santa Elena, both with 60%, according to official figures published until last Tuesday.
These provinces are well below the national figure. On that same date, throughout the country there were 12.6 million with the complete vaccination scheme, this is the 71% of the total population.
According to the epidemiologist at the University of Las Américas, David Larreátegui, the problem of vaccination in these four provinces is the dispersal of the people. “The more we improve vaccination coverage in the provinces, we will have less impact from omicron that we are already feeling now with a large influx of cases,” he says.
In his opinion, vaccination is the responsibility not only of the National Government but also of local authorities. “The governability of each province has a lot to do with it. In general, it is an effect of the management of each of the provincial governments and how they reach their citizens to encourage vaccination ”, he says.
On the other hand, there are the provinces that have advanced at an accelerated pace. This is the case of Galapagos, which has 84% of its population vaccinated with the complete scheme; Carchi, with 83%; and Pichincha, with 82%.
Carchi is also the province with the highest percentage of population that has accessed the first dose, so in the coming weeks it would lead the country’s list as the best vaccinated province.
For the researcher at the Institute of Microbiology of the San Francisco de Quito University, Paúl Cárdenas, this is due to the fact that Carchi, being a border province, has been successful in its immunization campaigns. He explains: “It is probably an effect of the concern of the people of this province in relation to the borders, since that is where many of the variants of concern and interest come in.”
Until last Tuesday, across the country there were a little more than 1 million people with the vaccine booster, that is to say, only 5% of the population. Cárdenas specified that the reinforcement is necessary to combat the expansion of the omicron variant, which arrived in the country at the beginning of this month.
The first case corresponded to a person who arrived in Ecuador last December 10 from South Africa, where this variant appeared. Since then, confirmed cases of COVID-19 have started to rise.
Cárdenas points out that “what has to be done is to improve with campaigns vaccination rates in rural areas, because the third dose is already being vaccinated in most of the country’s provinces, but in some, 50% of the second dose is still not covered and that is worrying. “
Larreátigui agrees with this, arguing that it is necessary to apply the vaccine booster, because “generallyIn the sixth month, antibody efficacy begins to decline formed by the stimulus of the vaccine ”.
In addition, he added, that “in the face of the appearance of new variants that can generate massive contagions, as now omicron, it is showing that in vaccinated people have greatly diminished the hospital impact ”. (I)
Paul is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment and general news. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established herself as a respected voice in the industry.
