Chile vaccinated more than 1.8 million people against the coronavirus in 11 days

After Chile’s 11 days of mass covid-19 vaccination, over 1.8 million people received at least their first dose, more than half in 71 years, as reported this Saturday by health authorities.

With an average greater than 180,000 vaccinated per day, the South American country maintains a favorable pace to reach the target of 5 million vaccinated by the end of March and the final goal of closing the first quarter of the year with 15 million people vaccinated against the coronavirus, on a total of 18 million inhabitants.

The vaccination plan has so far succeeded in administering two doses of the Pfizer / BioNTech substance to around 50,000 people, mostly healthcare workers who started getting vaccinated on December 24, when the first vaccines arrived in the country.

And the campaign, which began on February 3, comes after receiving from China nearly four million doses of CoronaVac vaccine, from the Sinovac laboratory.

The Minister of Health, Enrique Paris, who was vaccinated for the first time on Friday, just like President Sebastián Piñera, stressed this Saturday that almost all Chilean health workers are already vaccinated.

Paris added that from next Monday, professionals in basic and secondary education will be included in the vaccination schedule, starting with those over 60 years old. However, university professors have been excluded from this plan.

The country has maintained an average of 4,000 new infections daily for weeks, and deaths hover between 50 and 100. In total, Chile has accumulated 772,395 cases and 19,443 deaths since March 3, when the first outbreak of covid -19 has been recorded.

According to the authorities, the government of Chile has committed nearly $ 300 million in vaccines with various laboratories around the world. It has made deals to purchase around 36 million doses with Pfizer, Sinovac, Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca.

Keys to successful vaccination in Chile

Experts point out two aspects to explain the speed with which the process takes place, which is voluntary and free: the competence to negotiate vaccines Yes the vast network of primary care, which crosses every corner of this country, more than 4,200 kilometers long, and which has enabled it to successfully carry out campaigns in its history, such as that of polio in 1961.

For Claudio Castillo, Public health expert from the University of Santiago de Chile, the country has played the game well with the laboratories, as he negotiated “from very early on” and whatever the geopolitics, which allowed him to receive nearly 4 million doses of Sinovac.

“The Chinese vaccine is not yet very massive, it is mainly found in China, Indonesia, Turkey and Brazil. Today more and more countries are joining, but at first it did not have the seal of guarantee that Pfizer did. Chile’s contract diversification strategy has been very good“He added.

Chile, which has also approved the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines and is studying Russian vaccines Sputnik and Janssen, committed more than 35 million doses from different laboratories and the Covax platform, promoted by the World Health Organization (WHO) to guarantee universal access.

“The main challenge for a country like Chile, which has ideal logistical conditions, is to have sufficient stock», He explained to Efe Christopher square, scholar of the School of Public Health of the State University of Chile.

With information from EFE and AFP

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