Chile receives record vaccine shipment, but not trusted

SANTIAGO. Chile.— Consolidated as the region’s leader in the coronavirus vaccination process, Chile received a massive new shipment of 4 million doses of Coronavac -the drug developed by the Chinese laboratory Sinovac-, which will be intended to immunize people between 60 and 64 years old, with and without morbidities, over the coming weeks.

The arrival of the doses occurred between Thursday and Friday in two batches, and they were immediately distributed to the 26 vaccine depots located in the 16 regions of the country, which have already received more than 8 million of doses supplied by the Asian manufacturer and by Pfizer-BioNTech, whose doses have been used primarily with health workers and teachers.

The mass inoculation plan which began on February 3 and has been listed as one of the most “successful” on the continent, This Friday reached 3,238,198 people vaccinated, just over 18% of the entire population of Chile, including 75% over 65 years.

“Fortunately, Chile had the vision to anticipate and secure the vaccine supply. We have a long and successful tradition of strong immunology and vaccination systems. And, for this reason, this mass vaccination process will not only have to continue, but it is an urgent and necessary process that we will have to intensify, in order to achieve the demanding goals that we have set for ourselves, ”said the president. Chilean Sébastien Piñera, at Arturo Merino Benítez airport in Santiago, after receipt of the first shipment.

Authorities hope to vaccinate priority groups during the first quarter, estimated at around 5 million people, and then the objective of vaccinating 80% of the population before the end of June.

This week the site Our world in data University of Oxford, revealed that Chile is the fifth country in the world to administer more vaccines per 100 inhabitants, and is only surpassed by Israel, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the United States. United.

“The 8 million 300,000 vaccines that have arrived in Chile since the start of the vaccination campaign will allow us to continue with the schedule that we have imposed on ourselves, by guaranteeing the second committed doses,” he said. Paula Daza, Under Secretary for Public Health.

Despite the rapidity of the vaccination process in the country, the Ministry of Health reported that there were currently 23,178 active cases nationwide and in just 24 hours, 1,795 people with the capacity to spread have been reached. The number meant the second largest increase to this extent so far this year, and urged the authorities to continue protective measures.

“Now is not the time to abandon self-management measures against covid-19. The population as a whole, including the more than 3 million people who have already been vaccinated with the first dose, should continue to wear a mask, wash their hands frequently, avoid crowds and maintain a physical distance, “said the Minister of Health, Enrique Paris, in his daily report on the progress of Covid-19.

The official also reported that 4,586 new cases of the coronavirus had been counted, the highest number since January 29, and a total of 816,929 infections had been reached. In addition, there have been 90 deaths from causes associated with covid-19 in the past 24 hours, and the number of deaths has risen to 20,400 since the start of the pandemic.

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