FEB. 3, 2021

President Piñera makes positive assessment of first day of mass vaccination against COVID-19: “This meant a day of joy, emotions and hope for all”

The President referred to this memorable day in Chilean history in which more than 209,000 people were vaccinated throughout the country.

The President of Chile, Sebastián Piñera, highly rated Wednesday´s results of the first day of mass vaccination throughout the country in which the elderly were the main beneficiaries.   

“The joy, emotions and hopes that you expressed today with such love and strength are also our joy, emotions and hopes.  And they are what motivate us and inspire us to continue until we defeat this pandemic so we can give you all back a fuller and happier life,” noted the President.

The President recognized the work of healthcare workers and municipalities and “all of those who collaborated with generosity and dedication in order to make this day one that will be remembered forever.”

The plan is to vaccinate the bulk of the high-risk population, almost 5 million people, within the first quarter and the majority of the rest of the population, in other words, around 15 million people, during the first semester.  

Health Ministry Balance

In a report from La Moneda Palace, Health Minister Enrique Paris thanked “healthcare workers for their dedication, especially those who work in the primary healthcare network, which, under the responsibility of the municipalities and their mayors, did a great job in this vaccination process.”

Interior Minister Rodrigo Delgado reported that more than one thousand government officials were deployed throughout Chile to collaborate and work as a team with the mayors and municipal personnel.  “The planning that we carried out in conjunction with the mayors and their technical teams was seen all over the country, resulting in a day of great joy,” the Minister expressed.

According to the report, 1,422 vaccination centers were set up in Chile.  The 5 regions with the highest number of facilities were the Metropolitan, Maule, Valparaíso, Biobío and O´Higgins regions.

According to the data reported by the Department of Statistics and Health Information, up until 6:28 p.m. today, 140,412 people had been vaccinated against COVID-19.  Health authorities mentioned that this is a record high number and thanked the senior citizens who “showed up to get vaccinated with joy and hope and giving recognition to the value of this vaccine.”

To date, 209,501 people have been vaccinated.  Of this total, 23,942 are senior citizens over 90 years old, 66.1% of which are women and 33.9% men.

At the national level, 4,275 people have been vaccinated in the regions of Arica y Parinacota, 2,321 in Tarapacá, 9,176 in Antofagasta, 3,941 in Atacama, 12,069 in Coquimbo, 17,945 in Valparaíso, 66,091 in the Metropolitan Region, 17,831 in O´Higgins, 11,923 in Maule, 12,348 in Ñuble, 22,001 in Biobío, 11,649 in La Araucanía, 4,176 in Los Ríos, 7,394 in Los Lagos, 3,261 in Aysén and 3,099 in Magallanes.  Minister Paris thanked everyone outside of Santiago for their interest and attendance in the vaccination process.

The vaccination process will continue this Thursday, February 4 for senior citizens between 87 and 89 years old, and on Friday, February 5 for those who are between the ages of 85 and 86.