Peru will buy 55 million vaccines for the 4th dose in 2022

Peru has announced that it will purchase 55 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine by 2022 to give a fourth injection to medical personnel and vulnerable populations.

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“We have agreed with various laboratories to purchase 55 million doses of the vaccine next year (…), which will allow the fourth booster dose to be applied to the most vulnerable sectors and to the first tier (doctors and nurses) staff,” Health Minister Hernando Sevalos told reporters.

He pointed out that vaccinating the population with the fourth dose three months after the third dose depends on the outcome of the epidemic in the country.

The Minister confirmed that the purchase of Pfizer vaccines and vaccination of children aged 5 to 11 years will begin in January.

In the past month, infections have more than doubled to more than 1,500 a day, while deaths have risen to more than 50 a day.

The South American country bans family reunions and Christmas and New Year celebrations, while the curfew is in effect from 11pm to 4am.

According to the Ministry of Health, Peru hopes to reduce the prevalence of the highly contagious Omicron variant with these measures.

The Peruvian government on Wednesday extended the 21-month state of emergency until January 31 due to the epidemic.

The Andean nation, with 33 million inhabitants, has the highest pandemic mortality rate in the world at 6,122 per million, according to official figures from the AFP.

Peru has more than two million COVID-19 cases and more than 202,000 deaths since March 2020.