Colombia Aims for 9.5 Million Covid-19 Vaccinations This Month

Colombia Health Minister Fernando Ruiz revealed October 1 that 40.7 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines have now been applied nationally here through end-September — meaning more-than-half of all Colombians have already received at least one shot.

Through September 30, Colombia received another 14 air-freight deliveries of Covid-19 vaccines last month, totaling 12.85 million doses.

Meanwhile, for all of 2021, Colombia has so far acquired 83.4 million vaccine doses: 20.3 million through the Covax mechanism; 55.9 million through bilateral mechanisms and 7.1 million through donations — overwhelmingly from the United States government.

Given Colombia’s total population of 51 million, this means 51.2% have already gotten a first dose and 33% have gotten complete doses against Covid-19, according to the Ministry.

Among population groups, 97% of those over 80 years of age are already vaccinated with one dose and 85.24% have been completely vaccinated, according to Health Ministry promotion director Gerson Bermont.

For the 40-to-49-year-old group, 68.5% have already been vaccinated, while 44% of those aged 20-to-29 years and 37% of those aged 12 to 19 are now vaccinated, he said.

Colombia’s relatively small cohort of people older than 70 years also can get a booster shot starting this month, which would involve Pfizer or Moderna vaccines – even if those people had first gotten Sinovac or AstraZeneca shots earlier this year, he added.

“We have a very important number of vaccines — 12.8 million doses that have arrived in September, for which there is ample availability to advance the National Vaccination Plan,” added Health Minister Ruiz.

“October is essential to advance and consolidate vaccination. We have to reach 70% coverage of the population by the end of December [2021], for which we have three months to grow and increase coverage,” he cautioned.