By The Star Staff
The Comptroller of Puerto Rico published a coordinated audit on the actions of the Department of Health to immunize the island population against COVID-19 on Thursday, finding high levels of immunization against the virus.
The audit led by the comptroller general of Peru analyzes the panorama of Puerto Rico and other regions with respect to the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) on Health and Well-Being, which is part of the 2030 agenda of the United Nations.
In particular, the fulfillment of Target 3B of the SDGs was analyzed; that is, to support research and development of vaccines and medicines against communicable and non-communicable diseases that primarily affect developing countries and to facilitate access to affordable essential medicines and vaccines. The comprehensive joint report will be issued by the comptroller of Peru.
The report reveals high levels of compliance in the island Health Department’s vaccine coverage in planning, programming, management and execution, human resources and training, and monitoring and evaluation, as well as in information systems. With respect to the social participation component, the audit concludes that the department should generate, at the local level or in conjunction with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), tools for greater social participation and reception of citizen opinion to improve vaccination processes.
The audit also indicates that no fragmentations, overlaps, duplications or gaps in the policy associated with the vaccination process were identified. Rather, the vaccination process in Puerto Rico was defined by CDC regulations and its execution was carried out through the Health Department’s Vaccination Program.
In addition, the government’s management of the budget, personnel, infrastructure, equipment and monitoring and follow-up systems to address vaccination against COVID-19 guaranteed the vaccination coverage of the population effectively, the report said.
For the audited period, the Health Department received $49,350,738 in commonwealth funds and $1,146,602,053 in federal funds.
This special report, covering the period from Jan. 1, 2020 to Dec. 31, 2021, is available in www.ocpr.gov.pr.