As Puerto Rico embarks on a massive vaccination campaign, getting access to the shot has become yet another source of anxiety for many health care workers on the front-lines of the pandemic.

Thousands of hospitals workers have already been vaccinated on site, but now the larger field of medical workers are vying for the vaccine and finding it not so easy to get. No vaccination appointment system has been set up for the over 130,000 medical workers included in the first phase of vaccinations.

Department of Health deputy secretary Dr. Iris Cardona said in a WKAQ 580 radio interview Monday that setting up an appointment system was “difficult” in a large-scale vaccination program. The first come, first serve approach is frustrating health care workers, many already skeptical from public officials’ past record on emergency management.

“I’m not asking for a privilege,” said Mayra Martínez, a child psychologist who went to the stadium three times trying to get the first of two shots. “The conditions in which health professionals are being subjected is not healthy for overall well-being.”

Vaccinations against COVID-19 in Puerto Rico kicked off with hospital workers on Dec. 15. Cardona called the first week of vaccination “impeccable.” Within 4 days, the majority of the over 30,000 vaccine doses that arrived in the first shipments had been administered, Read more>>