Costa Rica opens vaccination to adults 30 and older

Costa Rica hopes to administer 500,000 doses in 10 days.

A Covid-19 vaccine is administered in Costa Rica. Photo via Casa Presidencial.

More Costa Rica citizens and residents are now eligible for a Covid-19 vaccine.

As of Monday, adults ages 30 and older can receive their first dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine at a mass-vaccination site. No appointment is necessary.

The news comes as Costa Rica hopes to administer 500,000 doses in the 10 days between July 16 and July 25. President Carlos Alvarado, 41, was among those getting vaccinated as part of these efforts:

Carlos Alvarado Quesada @CarlosAlvQ

Hoy asistí con Claudia a la cita de vacunación contra COVID-19 en el área de salud de Santa Ana. Abrir la vacunación para todas las personas mayores de 40 años es un gran paso de esperanza para toda 🇨🇷 Mi agradecimiento al personal de los Ebais y a los Ataps en todo el país.

Who can get vaccinated in Costa Rica?

The following citizens and residents are eligible for a Covid-19 vaccine in Costa Rica:

• Group 1: Staff and residents at retirement or nursing homes. First responders, including health personnel.

• Group 2: Costa Rica’s older population, defined here as those ages 58 and up.

• Group 3: People from 18-58 with risk factors, including hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, respiratory illness, kidney disease and obesity, among others.

• Group 4: Teachers and other staff within the Education Ministry (MEP) or private schools. Imprisoned people and judicial staff. Workers for the 911 service.

• Group 5: People ages 30-57 without any of the aforementioned risk factors. Note that some locations are vaccinating younger adults and teenagers.

Individuals should bring their identification document (cedula or DIMEX). The vaccine is free, even for those who don’t pay into the Caja. Doses are not available to tourists at this time.

Where to get vaccinated in Costa Rica

Each of Costa Rica’s hundreds of public clinics (EBAIS) manages vaccines within its area. Individuals who are eligible for a vaccine can contact their local EBAIS to schedule their first dose.

• For EBAIS contact information, click here and follow the link to “Contacto.”

However, through July 25, dozens of locations across Costa Rica will vaccinate eligible people, no appointment necessary.

• For a full list of these mass vaccination sites across Costa Rica, click here. (Link downloads as a .zip file.)

Costa Rica requires that you receive your second vaccine dose at the same location as your first. Pfizer doses have a 12-week interval in Costa Rica.

As of last Monday, 2.6 million doses have been administered in Costa Rica across 1.8 million people.

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