May 3, 2021
AP Photo/Carlos Giusti, File
In this March 10 file photo, people stand in line outside the Maria Simmons elementary school waiting to be inoculated with the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine as part of a mass vaccination campaign, in Vieques, Puerto Rico.
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) Puerto Rico seemed to be sprinting toward herd immunity this spring before people began letting their guard down against COVID-19 and new variants started spreading across the U.S. territory.
Now, a spike in cases and hospitalizations has put medical experts at odds with the government, which is struggling to protect people’s health while also trying to prevent an economic implosion on an island battered by hurricanes, earthquakes and a prolonged financial crisis.
May 3, 2021 Share
Puerto Rico seemed to be sprinting toward herd immunity this spring before people began letting their guard down against COVID-19 and new variants started spreading across the U.S. territory.
Now, a spike in cases and hospitalizations has put medical experts at odds with the government, which is struggling to protect people’s health while also trying to prevent an economic implosion on an island battered by hurricanes, earthquakes and a prolonged financial crisis.
“The difficulty here is how do you find a Solomonic decision … to give people the opportunity to work and be responsible and also maintain health as a priority,” said Ramón Leal, former president of Puerto Rico’s Restaurant Association. “These are hard conversations.”
KXLY
May 2, 2021 6:08 AM By DÁNICA COTO
Associated Press
Posted:
Updated:
Carlos Giusti
FILE - In this March 10, 2021 file photo, a healthcare worker injects a man with a dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine during a mass vaccination campaign, at the Maria Simmons elementary school in Vieques, Puerto Rico. A spike in cases and hospitalizations has put medical experts at odds with the government, which is struggling to protect people’s health while also trying to prevent an economic implosion on an island battered by hurricanes, earthquakes and a prolonged financial crisis.
Carlos Giusti
FILE - In this March 10, 2021 file photo, people stand in line outside the Maria Simmons elementary school waiting to be inoculated with the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine as part of a mass vaccination campaign, in Vieques, Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico seemed to be sprinting toward herd immunity this spring before people began letting their guard down against COVID-19 and new variants star
Puerto Rico groans under pandemic as health, economy suffer
The government is trying to protect people s health while also trying to prevent an economic implosion on an island battered by hurricanes and earthquakes.
Credit: AP
FILE - In this March 10, 2021 file photo, people stand in line outside the Maria Simmons elementary school waiting to be inoculated with the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine as part of a mass vaccination campaign, in Vieques, Puerto Rico. (AP Photo/Carlos Giusti, File) Author: Associated Press Updated: 9:35 AM EDT May 2, 2021
Puerto Rico seemed to be sprinting toward herd immunity this spring before people began letting their guard down against COVID-19 and new variants started spreading across the U.S. territory.