MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Uruguay's Vaccine Committee summoned to rule on need for new Covid booster dose

It will soon be time to go back to practicing medicine, Salinas said

Uruguayan Health Minister Daniel Salinas Monday announced the Vaccine Committee had been convened to decide on a possible booster against COVID-19. He also reviewed his plans to leave his post next year.

 “We have summoned the National Vaccine Advisory Committee to indicate the periodicity with which it will be necessary to be revaccinated,” Salinas told reporters.

The minister also explained that such a decision entails “an important bibliographic review,” in addition to indicating “what type of vaccine this group would recommend.” Salinas insisted that whatever “the technicians and the scientists decide” will have full support from the authorities.

Salinas was reluctant to give any conclusive statement but hinted that in SARS-CoV-2 “behaves like an influenza virus,” a booster dose “could be necessary.” In any case, “it is an alternative that they will decide” upon, he insisted.

The Minister assured that the epidemiological situation in Uruguay was under control and that community circulation of coronavirus was very low. “Today we have four patients in the whole country,” Salinas stressed. “But we cannot rule out that it could increase in the summer.”

Salinas also explained, regarding his future departure from office, that he had not announced his intentions to be a candidate in the next elections.

“I am going to continue collaborating with healthcare from another perspective because we all contribute to healthcare, from those who serve breakfast, clean a room, or are in an operating room, we all collaborate so that everyone's health is protected and I believe that my vocation is very strongly tied to that link of life choice, which was medicine,” Salinas explained.

“I like to do the work I do and I would gladly continue doing it, but as I have said before, it has been really tiring at times and I think that in some way I feel that I have modestly contributed with a grain of sand. It seems to me that it is time to continue with the profession,” he went on.