Either they send us the vaccines or they give us the money back

“I have given precise instructions to the Executive Vice-President (Delcy Rodriguez) to act this week and say an ultimatum to the Covax system: either they send us the vaccines or they give us the money back, ”Maduro said, according to state television. VTV and the newspaper Latest news.

The Head of State added: “And we, If they return the money to us, we will know where to buy, because we have already discussed with global multilateral institutions to do so. Enough teasing. “

The Director of Emergencies of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO, dependent on WHO), Ciro Ugarte, said a few days ago that the process of sending vaccines to Venezuela was “underway” after delays caused by the country’s lack of payment.

Venezuela, with 30 million inhabitants, has accumulated more than 276,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus and around 3,200 deaths from the disease since the start of the pandemic, and vaccinated around 11% of the population.

However, PAHO said that only about 224,000 people were vaccinated.