Anthoy Fauci, adviser to the White House, stressed that Ecuador ‘has done a better job than the US.’ with vaccination against COVID-19

The White House medical adviser Anthony Fauci, celebrated the progress of the country’s COVID-19 vaccination program. He did it during a virtual meeting, held on the afternoon of Friday, February 18, with the Vice President Alfredo Borrerothe Minister of Health, Ximena Garzón, and the Ambassador of Ecuador to the United States, Ivonne Baki.

The meeting took place in Washington, where the vice president has been since Thursday in search of international cooperation in health. During the appointment with the White House adviser, details of the epidemiological situation in Ecuador and the management of the pandemic were discussed.

Vice President Alfredo Borrero travels to the US in search of cooperation for health

Vice President (Alfredo Borrero), I have to congratulate you on the fact that your country has such a high vaccination rate. They have done a considerable job better than in the United States. I wish that in the United States we have the same level of compliance with the vaccination recommendations that you have been able to achieve in Ecuador,” Fauci said.

According to figures from the Ministry of Health, as of February 17, in application of first doses there is a coverage of 88.13% of the population, while in second doses it reaches 83.71%. And 3,583,130 booster doses have been given.

Before the meeting with Fauci, Vice President Borrero had a dialogue with Jarbas Barbosa, deputy director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). They addressed issues of support for the reduction of gaps in access to safe water in educational settings, mitigation of the effects of the pandemic, and access to a safe surgery program.

In other spaces, Borrero presented the ecuadorian malaria elimination strategy in a meeting with USAID Global Health Administrator Atul Gawande.

In addition, he spoke with Kee Park, director of Policies and Advice of the General Surgery and Social Change Program of the Harvard University, on bilateral cooperation for the transfer of knowledge and training.

The Vice President’s schedule of activities included work appointments with representatives of the private sector, to whom he exposed the country’s investment portfolio. Borrero is scheduled to remain in the United States until Sunday. (I)