Beginning of Stage 2 of the National Vaccination Plan

The Colombian Ministry of Health and Social Protection (Minsiterio de Salud y Protección Social) declared the initiation of stage 2 of the National Vaccination Plan against COVID-19 for the population between 60 and 79 years of age. This does not mean that vaccination for those over 80 years of age will be stopped; these people will continue to be vaccinated without any interruption.

In the initial phase of stage 2, Colombia is going to start vaccinating the population located in senior centers. The National Government plans to vaccinate almost 7 million people who are between the ages of 60 and 79. If the cities and municipalities have already finished immunizing citizens over 80 and have vaccines available, they should start with stage 2 of the Colombian Vaccination Plan.

Territories that have not yet finished vaccinating those over 80 years of age will have to continue with this population and thus end stage 1 first.

Local health institutions will continue to be in charge of the immunization process against the coronavirus as they have been doing. Citizens between 60 and 79 years old should update their data in the health institution and be aware of the official portal mivacuna.sispro.gov.co/MiVacuna/ to consult matters related to the vaccine or apply if they do not appear in that database. At this moment, the consultation continues for people in stage 1, but in the next few days it will be enabled for stage 2.

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Key oil and gas player trusts Colombia’s fracking pilot project

ExxonMobil submits proposal for Colombia fracking pilot project in the Valle Medio del Magdalena basin, the National Hydrocarbons Agency (Agencia Nacional de Hidrocarburos) said. Along with state own Ecopetrol, ExxonMobil becomes interested in Colombia’s progress in non-conventional fields.

According to the National Hydrocarbons Agency (ANH), ExxonMobil Corp has submitted a proposal to carry out a pilot project for hydraulic fracturing - or fracking - in Colombia. The project it applied for is concentrated in Colombia’s Valle Medio del Magdalena basin.

At the moment, Colombia is still gathering scientific studies that can provide valuable insight on the risks and benefits of fracking. Development of non-conventional energy deposits - including fracking for shale gas and coal bed methane - is highly polarizing in Colombia and commercial development of such deposits is currently not permitted (Reuters, 2021).

However, the interested from Exxon is a confident step towards Colombia’s progress in the possibility of extracting gas and oil from non-conventional fields. Following ExxonMobil’s proposal, the ANH will have until March 29 to evaluate the plan.