More vaccines reach Yucatán as quarantines rise sharply

A new batch of China’s Sinovac vaccine doses arrived in Yucatán on Sunday. They are intended for older adults in Ticul, Espita and Kanasín. Photo: Courtesy

Crewmen unloaded more vaccine shipments from a military plane in Mérida on Sunday as another 60 coronavirus cases and 10 deaths were announced in Yucatán. The number of patients under quarantine rose sharply in one week.

Over 14,000 doses of the Chinese Sinovac vaccines are intended for adults 60 and older in Ticul, Espita and Kanasín. A shipment of over 12,000 doses, which arrived Thursday, go to older adults in Progreso, Tixkokob and Temozón.

The Sinovac vaccine, which was produced by Chinese drugmaker Sinovac Biotech, is 100% effective in preventing severe and moderate infections, 77.96% effective in preventing mild cases, and has an overall efficacy rate of 50.4% in Brazil’s final-stage trials, according to researchers in Brazil.

One of Sinovac’s main advantages is that it can be stored in a standard refrigerator. Some others require a deep-freeze container.

Both Sinovac and the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine are a lot more useful to regions that cannot easily store large amounts of vaccine at lower temperatures.

Yucatán health authorities on Sunday also reported 207 patients in public hospitals, five fewer than the day before. But the number of patients at home, in stable condition and under quarantine, is up by nearly 100 in the last seven days, reaching 682.

Last week, daily infections averaged 72.7, down from the previous week’s average of 90.7. Deaths totaled 10 each day on average, down from 11 the week before. Yucatán’s recovery rate is up to 87%, few points higher than over the winter.

Among the fatalities was a 44-year-old man with no comorbidities.

Since the pandemic reached Yucatán a year ago, 33,193 infections have been found and 3,553 patients have died in the state.

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