In the midst of a relentless third wave, the private sector of the coffee-growing country began the immunization of its workers on July 4 as part of an initiative that seeks to vaccinate 1.25 million people, partially alleviating the burden of Iván Duque's government. and thus stop the increasing number of infections and deaths from COVID-19.

Last Sunday, the Cafam Convention Center, located in the La Floresta area, in Bogotá, was the place chosen for Telefónica to begin the vaccination process in Colombia, prioritizing collaborators who had had contact with clients, helping them with the connectivity.

In this way, the telco of Spanish origin became the first private company, within the framework of the Companies for Vaccination program, led by the National Association of Businessmen of Colombia (Andi), that joins this immunization race and that will impact positively in the National Vaccination Plan of the South American country.

However, Telefónica is one of the thousands of Colombian companies that have chosen to acquire vaccines for their employees with a view to achieving the much desired herd immunity in the shortest possible time. According to data from Andi, more than 5,000 companies from 32 unions have joined this initiative to acquire 2.5 million Sinovac vaccines that will be used to immunize 1.25 million workers.

The initiative is very significant and the timing is quite appropriate, taking into account that Colombia closed June, its most devastating month of the pandemic, with more than 17,000 deaths from Covid-19, and the advances in vaccination and programs like this give hope to the population in the face of the virulence of the third wave. As of July 7, Colombia had registered more than 4.4 million infections and 110,578 deaths since the first case was recorded in March 2020.

“More than two million Colombians will receive vaccines that have been financed by Colombian companies to, in a collaborative and supportive manner, accelerate the National Vaccination Plan and face the challenge of COVID-19,” said the president of Andi, Bruce. Mac Master, who was present at the place where the first doses were administered, told local media.

Likewise, in this program supported by the government of Iván Duque, companies have disbursed more than 285,000 million Colombian pesos (more than US$ 75 million) to acquire the vaccine from the Chinese laboratory.

As recalled, last April through Resolution 507, Colombia authorized the private sector to purchase vaccines against the new coronavirus, with the condition that companies commit to immunizing their employees and all the people they maintain at no cost. a contractual commitment to them. It is estimated that the price of each vaccine (two doses) is around US$60, an amount that includes everything from logistical costs to administration.

For the logistics and application process of the Sinovac vaccines, the companies have made agreements with compensation funds and a network of clinics and hospitals, since according to the government decree, they cannot use the vaccinators that are currently working for the process. of the State that began in February of this year.

Long list of companies

The Ecopetrol Group also announced last Tuesday the start of vaccination against COVID-19 for nearly 12,000 employees, while other companies in the sector such as Esenttia, Cenit, Hocol, Ecodiesel, Ocensa, ODL, Reficar, ODC and Equión have joined to this average.

“We have acquired 23,822 doses of the Coronovac vaccine produced by the Sinovac laboratory for the workers of the Ecopetrol Group. We are committed to caring for life and that is why we join this program to help reduce the number of infections and deaths and in this way achieve herd immunity,” said Jaime Caballero, president in charge of Ecopetrol.

The long list of companies also includes Grupo Éxito, Bancolombia, Scotiabank Colpatria, EPM, Postobón, Grupo Argo, Yanbal, Mondelez, Claro, WOM, among many others.

Rappi, the Colombian unicorn, is also part of the group of private companies that will vaccinate their workers, although the news was clouded by the controversial prioritization of the process to its rappitenders. The startup , which acquired 4,000 doses of Sinovac, announced that the first to receive the vaccine would be those who deliver the most orders, which was harshly criticized on social networks by users who did not hesitate to describe this measure as discriminatory.

Meanwhile, according to a survey carried out by the Colombian newspaper La República among 100 companies from different sectors, mining and energy companies are the ones that have announced the most purchases of vaccines for their work teams, followed by banks and insurance companies.

However, the private vaccination process has not been without controversy. At the end of June, the Colombian government announced the arrival of 1.1 million doses of vaccines purchased by private companies to distribute among their workers, out of a total of 2.5 million. Although as the days passed, some businessmen expressed their discomfort because their application has not yet begun because they do not have the vaccines.

This is the case of businessman Christian Daes, CEO of the glass manufacturer Tecnoglass, who harshly criticized the government, implying that they were being held without explaining why, when the priority should be to speed up the process.

“Private vaccines have been in the country for seven days. We are waiting for you. Could it be that they send them to us? Time is of utmost importance. "Ministry of Health, what are you waiting for to release them?" Daes posted on Twitter, also mentioning the Andi account last Sunday).

Given this, the Minister of Health and Social Protection of Colombia, Fernando Ruiz Gómez, did not hesitate to respond hours later on the same social network: “The lack of information of some is sometimes bigger than their egos. The Ministry of Health has them stored at the request of Andi while China releases its certificate and distribution logistics are adjusted. The Ministry was able to deliver them since they arrived.”

Once the impasse was overcome, which included a public apology from the Tecnoglass executive, the company born in Barrnaquilla began the vaccination against COVID-19 of its more than 8,000 employees at its facilities yesterday.

In this way, both the public and private sectors have undertaken this race against time to stop the spread of the virus. Precisely, yesterday Colombia reached 20 million doses of vaccines applied while in parallel, hundreds of thousands of doses arrive every week from different laboratories, guaranteeing to give a respite to the battered Andean country.