After a persistent complaint about the handling of restrictions, Chile must obtain vaccines from a variety of suppliers.
Chile administered more than 3. 1 million doses of vaccine in just 3 weeks to become a world leader in Covid-19 inoculations, only the United States, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates and Israel in vaccination doses consistent with one hundred people.
Chile, which initially complained heavily about its handling of pandemic restrictions, moved temporarily to unload vaccines from a variety of suppliers and aims to have 80% of its population immunized against the virus by June. It has already vaccinated 16% of its 19 million citizens in hospitals, schools, stadiums and municipal buildings across the country.
“Chile can be proud of its inoculation process,” said Health Minister Enrique Paris, who took office in June 2020 after his predecessor resigned amid a surge in cases. “To get to this point, we started running in May of last year to make sure that sufficient and effective vaccines would be available for all Chileans. “
The successful vaccination campaign stands in stark contrast to neighbouring countries. Chile’s vaccination rate of 16. 78 doses, in line with another hundred people, far exceeds the regional average of 2. 83. Brazil, whose prespectant, Jair Bolsonaro, has called the virus a “little flu. “, has so far controlled vaccinating 3. 67% of its population, but reached a grim milestone this week with 250,000 COVID-19 deaths recorded. On the other side of the Andes, Argentina administered 1. 84 doses, the same as a hundred other people. No other country in South America has controlled vaccinating more than 1% of its population.
Chile’s mass inoculation crusade began with other people over 90 on Feb. 3, and after administering more than 1 million vaccines in its first week, it has now covered 1. 9 million people over 65. A path has been mapped out for the country to succeed in the immunity herd until June.
In the current phase, people over 65, transplant recipients and others requiring dialysis are vaccinated, while the latest delivery from Pfizer-BioNTech and SinoVac will also allow 250,000 teachers to receive a first dose before returning to school on March 1. Seniors Then it will be targeted from 60 to 64 and, from March 8, anyone suffering from a chronic disease will be able to benefit from a vaccine.
More than 20,000 people have died after contracting the virus in Chile, where 812,344 have tested positive for covid-19, with 39% of infections concentrated in the capital, Santiago.
While closures eased and tightened during the summer months thanks to a set of staggered restrictions, 30 of Chile’s 346 districts are on lockdown lately, with two more joining them as of Feb. 27. A national curfew remains in place, restricting between 11 p. m. and five o’clock in the morning
“We follow a pragmatic strategy,” said Rodrigo Yanez, undersecretary of Chile’s Ministry of Commerce, which is to ensure the supply of vaccines.
“We think more about the technical and clinical merit of each vaccine than the political points and necessary agreements with various laboratories in case the source deserves to slow down. “
A state budget of $200 million has been allocated for the vaccination program, the total burden may reach $300 million, according to Yáñez.
Chile has purchased more than 35 million doses of vaccine, adding 7. 8 million through the global Covax program, 10 million from SinoVac Biotech and Pfizer, and other materials from AstraZeneca, the only 3 brands whose vaccines the country has approved to date.
The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, the first to arrive Dec. 24, with 20,000 doses used to vaccinate healthcare workers in direct contact with the virus, and other vaccines produced through Johnson Laboratories.
With vaccine doses delivered 28 days apart, the massive crusade to administer the doses on the spot will begin on March 3, a year after the first case of Covid-19 detected in Chile.