MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Third dose of vaccine mandatory to lead normal life in Peru

“The person who decides not to be vaccinated has no right to harm others,” Torres said

Peruvian health authorities Wednesday announced the third dose of COVID-19 vaccine will be needed for people willing to enter public buildings and indoor private spaces effectively April 1.

Peru's Health Ministry (Minsa) specified on social media the measure would apply to people aged 18 and over. They also urged citizens to go to immunization centers on the indicated dates to receive the additional injections in a timely manner.

“As of April 1, citizens from the age of 18 must have three doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to enter public and private establishments, as agreed in Council of Ministers. The supreme decree will be published in the coming days,” Minsa said.

Prior to Wednesday's announcement, Health Minister Hernán Condori had said during a session of the Council of Ministers: ”(The third dose) will have to be included in the vaccination calendar.“

”In these days, we are going to release the resolution whereby the third dose will be required to enter coliseums, stadiums, work activities, to travel and to enter to shopping malls and indoor places,“ he announced.

Minsa also vowed to stage a 36-hour vaccination marathon to inoculate people who have pending immunizations.

Since December, Peru has been facing a third wave of infections, in addition to its high mortality rate.

Peruvian health authorities also said the young population was reluctant to be vaccinated with the booster.

Cabinet Chief Aníbal Torres insisted that ”the person who decides not to be vaccinated has no right to harm others.” Civil servants without the three doses could risk losing their jobs.

Vaccination against COVID-19 in Peru began Feb. 9, 2021. Since then, more than 80% of the population over 12 years of age (some 25.6 million people), has received two doses, while 42.8% of the target population has taken a booster dose, according to Minsa data.

Peru is said to have COVID-19's highest mortality rate. The Government is reportedly considering a fourth dose. Since the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020, Peru has registered over 3.5 million cases and more than 211,000 deaths.