The Colombian Government established the National Vaccination Plan through Decree 109 of 2021 (the “Plan”), by which the vaccination process started on February 17, prioritizing the vaccination in five stages to reach at least 70% of the national population.
The Plan defined that the activities of import and application of vaccines would be initially centralized in the Ministry of Health, which should apply the vaccines for free, without the capacity of commercializing them, and who could determine the moment in which private legal entities would be able to import and apply the vaccines.
From June 17, 8.6% of the Colombian population had been vaccinated, and 19.3% of the population had been given at least one dose. The Government expects that in 2021 35% of the Colombian population will be vaccinated.
Once the population with the highest risk had been covered and considering the progress in the application of vaccines, on June 22 the Government issued Resolution 840 of 2021, under which it allows entities governed by private law to import and purchase vaccines. The resolution establishes another series of conditions that must be considered. The private vaccination process is already being carried out directly by some companies or through business associations.
Thus, it is imminent that advisors and clients are already asking themselves key questions regarding vaccination and its impact in the workplace. This will help them to decide if they will implement vaccination plans for their workers and contractors and to understand what they should be considering for this in accordance with the conditions established in the aforementioned resolution, bearing in mind the implications of the applicable liability regime.
