COVID-19

Plan Nacional de Vacunación
Acumulados al 21 de Junio de 2021
4,625,991
Primera dosis
2,546,487
Segunda dosis
7,172,478
Total dosis aplicadas
2,546,487
Población completamente vacunada

Progress on vaccinations:.

Over the past week the first doses given daily have been: 14,997, 43,101, 77,893, 69,090, 50,261, 84,252.

Over the past week the second doses given have been: 65,609, 78,540, 81,830, 39,502,18,518, 65,788

Flattening off.

Abinader has reopening of the binational markets and maintains the same curfew

https://listindiario.com/la-republica/2 … ueda-igual

No change to the 7 provinces with lesser curfew which is amazing with the rapid growth of the virus especially in Santiago, La Vega, La Altagracia Espaillat and Duarte - even Samana.

Five million more Sinovac vaccines are coming

The State has purchased 10.8 million Sinovac vaccines from China, the main supplier of drugs to the Dominican Republic.

However, five million more will arrive in July, despite the fact that, previously, the vice president had indicated that that was the maximum amount.

https://www.diariolibre.com/actualidad/salud/medidas-restrictivas-por-una-semana-mas-pese-a-descenso-en-ocupacion-hospitalaria-GA27051722

That would make enough doses for 7.9 million people so some must be for booster doses if the Pfizer 10 million are coming in weekly at a rate of 200k and the aim is 7.5/8 million total vaccinated. No mention of AZ anymore.

Official: Government will apply third dose of vaccine against COVID-19 to the population
It will be a month after the second and it will be from a different pharmacy than the first two

https://www.diariolibre.com/actualidad/ … LE27101965

The Health Cabinet reported this Thursday that the application of a third dose of the vaccine against COVID-19 is already a fact, due to the variants that have emerged from the virus.

The third dose will be a month after the second and will be from a different pharmaceutical company than the previous two, according to Raquel Peña, during a brief press conference at the National Palace.

After a meeting with the President of the Republic, the provision was made to strengthen the population of the variants of the coronavirus registered in several countries.

Peña said that together with the airport authorities and the Ministry of Tourism, the corresponding measures will be taken to prevent the entry of COVID-19 variants.

A cardiologist here is calling out the people in this decision.  He says, and I agree, there is no research or study showing need for 3rd vaccine one month later.  All recommendations he can find show 6 months. That is what I have read.  Boosters at 6 months.

And there is zero research to back up using a different vaccine for number 3!  He says we are not a test center!

Where did they get this idea I wonder????

Correct. there is not sufficient research to justify mandating we all take a different shot so soon after completing the recognized vaccination processes.

In fact the UK is studying the effects of a third shot and if they can mix vaccines with samples of people. There is no decision yet or expected anytime soon.

I suspect the Abinader administration is worried about Delta with it's open borders policy and it rightly should be. Delta is cropping up all around South America imported from travellers form the USA, so we can be pretty certain it will be gainng a foothold here.

And maybe they supect the Pfizer shot may protect against Delta. Think again from what is happening in Israel where the only shots are mRNA and there is a high level of the population vaccinated. All vaccines will have less effect going forward as strong mutations develop to counter them and so will need to develop and be injected into more arms.

Coronavirus: Israel reimposes masks amid new virus fears

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-57594155

We all will need booster shots to reinforce our immunity and those that have had covid19 will soon lose theirs so they will have to get vaccinated too.

Delta and other new variants are part of the future.

Are we beginning to see a gradual reduction in cases and hospital admissions in Santo Domingo? It appears so but with so many active cases, could this be a shift elsewhere with less testing elsewhere. And if Delta does arrive there could be ideal conditions to spread rapidly.

On the vaccination front it is all slowing down rapidly including the major push last weekend:

Last 6 days first vaccinations: 84,252, 65,120, 55,387, 43,824, 36,540 and yesterday
15,678.

Last 6 days second vaccinations: 65,781, 63,986, 45,261, 36,486, 26,423 and yesterday 8,619.

4,824,540 (45%) with one jab and 2,727,265 (25%) fully vaccinated.

And there should be close to 4 - 4.5million shots available right now to put in arms with more coming.

They need to concentrate on first full vaccinations and not think about boosters yet!!!

One day drop in some numbers isn't a trend.

It is several days now.

Pressure on hospitals in SD has declined a bit.

https://listindiario.com/la-republica/2 … a-de-camas

Far too early to be complacent but you would  expect some positive signs in provinces with tougher curfew after a few weeks.

This is far from over and one hopes for no change for at least one more week and better still tougher curfew extended  to all provinces.

Yesterday saw a very poor turnout on the vaccination front:

9,159 first jabs and 4,093 second jabs

Over 27,000 in Toronto yesterday.  A city record!

a WORLD record perhaps-

https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/toronto-clin … -1.5487455

Does anyone know where in Santiago are they vaccinating with Pfizer?  Is there a phone number to call?

Government maintains curfew hours for another week[/b   

https://eldia.com.do/gobierno-mantiene- … ra-semana/

[b]Chamber of Deputies approves 45 more days of state of emergency

https://eldia.com.do/camara-de-diputado … mergencia/
[/i]
Would take it through to the end of August from 14th July and only now needs the Presidents decree.

Booster shots are voluntarily available from today starting with health workers, those with comorbidities and apparently over 70's.

No other country is applying a different shot after Sinovac as of today. Turkey allows an extra shot of either Sinovac or Pfizer to counteract Delta, and Chile is looking at a the possibility of a dose of Pfizer after Sinovac.

My personal preference would be a booster of the deactivated virus shot I have already had and I do hope they permit that and I will cetainly ask when the time comes. What I have read suggest Pfizer is a very good vaccine in the real world, but it is novel, and we are only now seeing some of the side effects albeit in very small numbers. Give it a year or two for a better understanding of this type of modified gene therapy is my current position and mixing it in an untried combination gives me less confidence. I do hope it is proven in the long term to be without side effects because there are other potential remedies using this technology such as cancer.

The Medical College and specialized medical societies support the Government's provision to apply a third booster dose against COVID-19

https://presidencia.gob.do/noticias/el- … obierno-de

The Dominican Medical Association and the Specialized Medical Societies support the provision announced by the Government to voluntarily apply a third booster dose against COVID-19.

This third dose would apply to all citizens who have completed their first and second dose schedule.

When signing a joint commitment with the Government, it is specified that this booster dose should begin to be applied immediately, on a voluntary basis, to all health personnel and people with comorbidity who have the two initial doses of vaccination, and then continue with the rest of the population.

In addition, it is established that it can be applied with a difference of 4 weeks from the last vaccine in the case of Sinovac and 12 weeks in the case of AstraZeneca.

The pulmonologist Miguel Núñez positively valued the combination of vaccines, assuring that, "each time the immune system is stimulated in a different way, you have a greater probability that it will result in a better response."

He said that good leadership is characterized by taking the best measures with the knowledge that exists, with what is at hand and with what we can do.

For her part, the president of the Dominican Society of Pneumology, Evangelina Soler, indicated that studies have shown that it is necessary to reinforce this immune activity in the face of new variants of the Coronavirus.

Soler indicated that there is enough evidence that adverse effects are not taken into account if we assess the fact that a population is being protected from possible variants with very negative effects.

"We want the population to come with the confidence that all opinions were favorable to protect our population with a third dose."

The joint commitment signing was headed by President Luis Abinader; the vice president Raquel Peña; the Minister of Public Health; Daniel Rivera; the president of the Colegio Medio Dominicana, Waldo Ariel Suero and Evangelina Soler, president of the Dominican Society of Pulmonology.

In addition, José Joaquín Puello, director of Ciudad Sanitaria; Jorge Marte, medical director of CEDIMAT; José Yunén, infectologist and Miguel Núñez, pulmonologist.

Likewise, the other members of the Health Cabinet, the Minister of Labor, Luis Miguel de Camps; the directors of the National Health Service, Mario Lama, of the National Health Insurance (SENASA), Santiago Hazim; by Promese / Cal, Adolfo Pérez.

Similarly, the Superintendent of Health and Occupational Risks (SISALRIL), Jesús Feris Iglesias; the medical adviser to the Presidency, Víctor Atallah and the adviser on Public Health, Eddy Pérez Then.

Next, the signed points:

1. That all participants recognize the excellent implementation of the National Vaccination Plan, which maintains us as one of the countries with the lowest fatality rate and with the most people vaccinated for every one hundred inhabitants.

2. That the timely supply of the Sinovac vaccine made it possible to reduce infections, hospitalization and deaths caused by SARS COV-2.

3. That until now one of the best preventive actions to protect the health of Dominicans, in the face of the emergence of new variants of Covid-19, is the application of an additional booster dose that increases the response of the immune system against a changing virus such as SARS COV-2.

4. What initial findings from ongoing studies indicate that it is possible to optimize the response of neutralizing antibody production against SARS COV-2 by applying an additional and voluntary dose of a different vaccine to those applied in the first and second doses.

5. That, according to the international experience, accumulated to date, and the opinion of the experts, it is concluded that the potential benefit of protection against SARS COV-2 far outweighs the possible collateral effects of the application of a dose additional reinforcement.

6. That in view of the foregoing reasons, all the representatives of the specialized medical societies and the Dominican Medical Association support the provision announced by the Government to apply an additional booster dose.

7. That this booster dose should begin to be applied immediately, on a voluntary basis, to all health personnel and people with comorbidity who have the two initial doses of vaccination, and then continue with the rest of the population.

8. That it can be applied with a difference of 4 weeks from the last vaccine in the case of Sinovac and 12 weeks in the case of AstraZeneca.

9. That this additional dose will continue to be applied following the same modality used for the first and second doses, starting with the oldest age groups and those with comorbid conditions and people at risk of infection by SARS COV-2.

10. That the process of applying the first and second doses with the Sinovac vaccine will continue to develop normally and in parallel.

Interesting read. Perhaps augmenting the Sinovac is a good idea. Especially if a country you may want to go to does not recognize Sinovac.

https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandso … t-variants

I believe in the case of a country not accepting   Sinovac you must be FULLY vaccinated with another one.

The day positivity goes up and the 4 week average goes down!

You have to love their math.......LOL

Things just dont seem to be getting much better yet.

Agreed.

Current controls have stabilized the situation but do not stop continuing spread.

New record of active cases by COVID-19 is registered in the Dominican Republic
The country accumulates 327,561

Todays headline in Diario Libre above.

There would appear no conditions to relax controls anytime soon. Adding Santiago, La Vega, Espaillat and Duarte to the longer curfew seems necessary.

Maybe Delta is here and spreading. They took only 80 tests a month ago to check for variants and still dont know the results.

Needs to be applied across the board most likely. Highly likely Delta is here, just look at the average age of those  dying and in ICU......

Yet again the day positivity is higher yet the 4 week positivity drops.
Clearly the shorter curfew is working by the new case count in those provinces: Duarte 48 Espaillat 27 La Altagracia 42 La Vega 44 Puerta Plata 31 Samana 15 and Santiago 118 - which was 2nd highest count and positivity is dropping!
I think we are being primed for curfew/drinks relaxation next week.

Government extends state of emergency; modify curfew

Consider lifting curfew in places with 70% of the population with a second dose of COVID-19 vaccine

https://www.diariolibre.com/actualidad/ … IP27288374

The Dominican Government announced this Saturday the extension of the state of emergency for 45 days and the modification of the current curfew, while informing that it is considered lifting the same in the demarcations where 70% of the population has the second dose of the vaccine against the coronavirus, "without prejudice to the maintenance or establishment of other measures that the competent authorities deem necessary."

The announcement is contemplated in decree 419-21 issued by President Luis Abinader, which provides for the modification of the curfew schedule at the national level.

As of this Wednesday, July 7, the curfew is established in the national territory from Monday to Friday from 10:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. Saturdays and Sundays from 7:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. A.M


There will be free transit in the national territory from Monday to Friday until midnight (12:00 am) and on Saturdays and Sundays until 9:00 pm, that is, 2 additional hours every day.

For its part, the same exceptions are maintained for people and vehicles authorized to circulate during curfew hours, details a statement from the Presidency of the Republic.

Regulation of public and private places

Massive activities and events that involve the agglomeration of people, regardless of the place in question, remain prohibited in the national territory. People may use open spaces in the open air, such as parks and boardwalks, for activities that do not involve crowds and in compliance with current sanitary protocols.

Public and private establishments for public use, regardless of the type of activity they sponsor, may only receive people up to 50% of the total capacity of their facilities and in compliance with the health protocols issued by the corresponding authorities.

In addition to the above, the places for the consumption of food and beverages may not receive more than 6 people per table and the activities of the different churches and other religious denominations may only be held 3 times a week.

Likewise, the mandatory use of masks in public and private places for public use is confirmed, as well as the other health measures and protocols adopted by the corresponding authorities.

Sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages

The consumption of alcoholic beverages in public and private places of public use is prohibited in the national territory every day from 6:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m.

From 6:00 pm until the curfew starting time, commercial establishments may only sell alcoholic beverages if they are to take away or at home and in their original sealed container.

Validity, review and lifting of the measures

All these measures will be in force until the corresponding authorities review them, always within the period authorized for the state of emergency.

The foregoing, without prejudice to the maintenance or establishment of other measures that the competent authorities deem necessary.

With no clear big improvements and no idea if Delta is here, they relax controls once again. At least they are limiting opening times at weekends and restricting alcohol sales.

So this is a mixed bag.  Not the time to relax anything.

At least 6 pm limit on alcohol sales and weekend times will help.

4 week positivity keeps dropping despite higher day positivities!

The new math honey!

Plan Nacional de Vacunación
Acumulados al 03 de Julio de 2021
5,019,355
Primera dosis
3,058,630
Segunda dosis
8,077,985
Total dosis aplicadas
3,058,630
Población completamente vacunada

Vaccination rate slowing down as can be seenover past week (from 27th June):

First dose applied: 9,159, 31,659, 34,713, 31,511, 59,133 ( 2days total), 10,640
Full - second doses applied: 4,093, 38,820, 57,789, 64,330, 133,396 ( 2days total), 32,637

About 47% with one shot and now 28% fully vaccinated. those percentages are for total population but the government oftens talks of herd immunity based upon 70% 0f adult population which is apparently 7.8 million.

No mention of how boosters are measured in these results.

Highest vaccination rate so far is in La Altagracia (then Puerto Plata) with just over 50% fully vaccinated which is not surprising with it being tourism centre and hotel workers and suppliers getting vaccinated. But the government says based upon adult population it is 62% first dose and 38.6% fully vacinated. Bearing in mind more and more young people are getting infected, even infants, reporting this way is questionable imo - it is 'spin'.

https://hoy.com.do/38-6-de-la-poblacion … -covid-19/

DR must have nearly 3.5/4 million shots ready to go into arms after another 200k arrived Friday from Pfizer.

This doesn't account for non Dominicans being vaccinated, third dosis and revaccination counts.  There are numbers of expats revaccinating as sinnovac doesn't qualify in other countries.

The government is pushing the notion that if 70% of the adult population gets vaccinated then this concept of herd immunity kicks in.

The acccepted concept of herd immunity relates to total population percentage.

The figures it is posting in the media are percentages of adult population vaccinated. See Nota below in graphic.

And anyhow experts are questioning if herd immunity will ever be possible with population hesitancy, variants and to add here in DR, under 12's don't have a vaccine yet and there are some getting covid19 and in intensive care.

And did you note that they are saying 99.9% of people in La Altagracia have had their first shot!. (I guess Dominican Mike could be the 0.1%). The reason for such a figure in La Altagracia is the hotel staff who come from other provinces are being counted in vaccinations and not in the total province population. Same applies to PP.

All good points Lennox.  The math will never add up and vaccination % will always be overstated.

I have to say this policy of eliminating curfew if a province hits 70% vaccination of over 18s is going to create havoc and virus spread in DR imo. It is an off the cuff policy imo without logical thought.

Hermanas Mirabel have just said they need another 15k vaccinations and they would hit the target and expect no curfew.

Great but they connect with several other provinces without border controls.

Surely it has to be a uniform policy of relaxation of controls to be effective?

The key as has been the case always is to have strict enforced controls of the behavior of Dominicans and businesses with penalties to socially distance, use masks and use sanitary measures. Dominicans just cant do this and the authorities dont enforce so we have had changing curfews.

We are all thoroughly pissed off with an inconsistent policy which keeps changing and doesnt deliver.

DR is in no better place than it was last fall even with vaccinations and now delta is about to make it worse thanks to open borders.

My first thought was:  Puerto Plata is on social media saying by end of July they will be at 70%.   And their curfew will be lifted.  And guess where everyone from other provinces will be going and partying hard?

Absolutely right - this was an off the cuff policy without thinking through the consequences.   And they best think through how to calculate this.

Following this post for several weeks. Thanks for the provided news and information!

Question:
Booked my flight for the 1st of august.
Does anybody see a risk, that the situation could turn so bad, that it will be impossible to come over then?