Venezuela will have access to Covax mechanism vaccines against coronavirus thanks to opposition leadership

Venezuela to pay entry to Covax mechanism to access vaccines, in the middle of a second wave of pandemic that the authorities assured this Friday is “more virulent“.

With $ 30 million corresponding to funds blocked abroad and placed under the control of the leader of the opposition Juan Guaidó, the country will pay for its entry into the WHO system and the cold chain to deliver the doses.

The release of the money was negotiated in a “technical table” made up of representatives of the regime of Nicolás Maduro, Guaidó and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).

Venezuela has reserved between 1.4 and 2.4 million AstraZeneca vaccines, a drug which nevertheless it was not allowed by the diet for fear of side effects.

The country reports 149,145 infections and 1,475 deaths, figures questioned by the opposition and non-governmental organizations that report high under-registration.

The vice president Delcy Rodriguez alerted this Friday evening from youThe second “most virulent” wave of COVID-19, following the arrival of a Brazilian variant of the virus on March 4.

“We must announce that a second wave much more virulent of the one that occurred during the months of August and September of the year 2020, ”Rodríguez said during a speech broadcast on government television.

“Best opportunity”

Venezuela began its vaccination campaign in February with the Russian Sputnik V, prioritizing health workers and authorities, and in March it also began implementing that of Chinese pharmaceutical Sinopharm.

The objective with Covax is to reach, within a year, 12 million doses for 6 million people.

The first $ 30 million of blocked funds were approved in a virtual session of the elected parliament in 2015, which Guaidó defends as “legitimate”, despite the fact that Chavism claimed control of the Legislative Assembly in January 2021 after elections boycotted by the main opposition parties. unknown to United States, European Union and several Latin American countries.

The agreement authorizes “President Juan Guaidó to request a debt from the Central Bank of Venezuela in the amount of $ 30,309,040.00, intended to pay for access to the Covax platform ($ 18,199,040.00 ), and for the investment in the cold chain necessary for the vaccination plan against covid-19 (12,110,000.00 dollars) ”.

It also orders “to take all necessary steps with the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the Department of the Treasury of the United States of America to process the license and subsequent liquidation of funds for the corresponding disbursements.”

Washington, in its pressure against dictator Nicolás Maduro with financial sanctions, gave Guaidó control of Venezuela’s accounts and assets in the United States.

“This is the best opportunity we have so far to be able to stop the virus“Said the Leader of the Opposition during the session broadcast by YouTube. “We will do everything to get this vaccine quickly and efficiently.”

Total negotiation would exceed $ 100 million, according to a source close to Guaidó at the news agency AFP.

The agreement provides that the tripartite table “consolidate a detailed plan for the implementation of a vaccination strategyWhich will be under the supervision of PAHO and UNICEF.

“In Venezuela there is no more room for improvisation and politicization, so it is imperative that vaccines be administered and distributed by humanitarian agencies,” Guaidó said later.

(With information from AFP)

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