Almost a third of the Uruguayan population has received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine

Almost a third of the inhabitants of Uruguay have received at least one dose of the various COVID-19 vaccines applied in the country: the one developed by the Chinese laboratory Coronavac, the American Pfizer or the Anglo-Swedish AstraZeneca.

According to the web monitor developed by the Department of Public Health (MSP), at 14:37 local time (17:09 GMT) on Tuesday 1.07 million first doses have already been administered, which represents 30.92% of the population. More than 341,000 people have completed the vaccination process, representing the 9.82 percent out of just over 3.46 million people who live in this South American country.

To this official figure, which corresponds to the vaccination schedule established by the Ministry of Public Health, it is necessary to add 1,542 additional doses corresponding to retirement homes and the prison population (without prior appointment).

The vast majority of vaccines applied -1.1 million- come from the laboratory Sinovac. Approximately 277,000 doses of Pfizer, reserved for the elderly and health workers, and nearly 30,000 AstraZeneca.

The country quickly positioned itself among those who succeeded in vaccinating the greatest number of its population. According to the specialized site Our world in data, once again topped the global list of applied doses per 100 people last week. Uruguay applied an average of 1.31 doses per 100 inhabitants between April 12 and 19. Bahrain’s number, second on the list, was 1.04.

So far, the two departments that have made the most progress in this regard are Durazno (center), with 54.04% of the population with the first dose and 14.92% with the second, and Rivera (North, bordering Brazil), with 48.66% with the first and 15.66% with the second.

Uruguay has purchased 3.8 million doses of Sinovac and Pfizer vaccines, of which more than 2 million are already in the country. In addition, he registered on the Covax platform, under the aegis of the World Health Organization (WHO), and has already received 48,000 doses of AstraZeneca.

Subsequently, the government of Luis Lacalle Pou finalized the acquisition of 1.5 million additional doses from the Chinese laboratory, which should arrive in May.

The vaccination plan in the South American country began on March 1 with the inoculation of Coronavac to priority groups (police, firefighters, military, teachers and workers at the Institute for Children and Adolescents under age 60). Faced with weaker than expected demand, the excess doses were sent to the northern border of the country – given the strong impact of the pandemic in Brazil and the prison population.

Subsequently, the agenda would be open to the population between 18 and 70 years old, regardless of their profession or their risk situation.

On March 12, inoculation with Pfizer to healthcare workers began, which was later extended to retirement homes and people over 80 until, definitely, last week band from 71 to 79.

In the past week, they also started administering the Dosage of AstraZeneca in the department of Canelones (south), where the percentage of population reached was much lower than that of the rest of the country, and in the border with Brazil, severely affected by COVID-19.

Despite the rapid vaccination process, Uruguay is going through the worst health moment of the pandemic. Accumulate 167,033 positives since March 13, 2020, when the health emergency was declared, and 1971 deaths, but half of them were only registered in April of this year, according to the National’s latest report Emergency System (Sinae).

(With information from EFE)

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