Vaccination begins in the south at the Los Cristianos Residence for the Elderly

Twenty-two residents and 22 workers of the Los Cristianos Residence for the Elderly, run by the Arona City Council, have had an unforgettable day today (Monday), by being the first to receive the coronavirus vaccine in the entire south of Tenerife, following the Ministry of Health’s vaccination plan which today begins its journey through all the municipalities in the South of Tenerife.

At 10:00am this morning health personnel arrived at the centre with the Pfizer doses to start with the vaccination, which was carried out without incident. The first two to get the vaccine, was resident of the centre María Isabel Cruz Sabina, and member of staff, María del Carmen Cruz Santana. Everyone who received the vaccine is well, very excited, and above all, hopeful that this could be the beginning of the return to the long-awaited normality.

"I am very happy, content and calm," said María del Carmen after receiving the first dose of the vaccine in the South of Tenerife. Likewise, María Isabel, the first resident, who after being vaccinated said she was full of gratitude and joy. "I’m well, very well, and very happy," she said after being vaccinated.

It should be noted that the prevention and security protocols applied in the centre by ADESA (the public entity that manages social resources), with Councillor Julia Morales at the helm, have been essential to avoid contagion by coronavirus, of both users and workers, since the pandemic began in March last year.

The council restricted visits to the elderly, meaning they could only communicate with their families by video call, and activated a system of periodic disinfections and protocols for workers of the centre, who access an area specifically enabled for them, and only wear clothes washed in the centre with protective equipment.

The mayor of Arona, José Julián Mena, highlighted today as the “beginning of a long-distance race to bend the curve of the coronavirus pandemic. It is a very important moment and we are lucky to have it. I want to congratulate and thank the enormous work that those in the residence centre are doing, to take care of our elders, one of the most vulnerable groups of this pandemic and, therefore, one of our priorities. I also want to highlight the great performance of the protocols. All the management of our resources has been very positive.”

 “We have maximized all prevention mechanisms and for that reason we have not had a single positive in the residence centre. The protocols have also worked in a general way in the municipality. Arona has 100,000 inhabitants and we are at low-medium risk, but we have to continue to be rigorous and continue to apply all the measures in the strictest way possible.”

“The work is on-going so that our elders are not only safe, but also feel safe,” added Councillor Julia Morales. "The vaccination campaign that was carried out today is great news, but we must not be complacent or lower our guard."