MAY 3, 2021

Chile receives shipment with 1.5 million Sinovac vaccines

With this shipment, the ninth from this laboratory to arrive in Chile, the country has already received 17,719,476 doses.

Chile received 1,500,000 doses of Sinovac vaccines on Sunday. The Health Minister, Enrique Paris, the Chinese Ambassador to Chile, Niu Qingbao, and the International Economic Affairs Undersecretary, Rodrigo Yáñez received the shipment.

“As President Piñera said yesterday, the vaccination rollout for people between 44 and 35 years will advance very quickly over the next two weeks. Today we have received 1.5 million doses of Sinovac vaccines, bringing the total to nearly 15 million doses of this vaccine,” said Minister Enrique Paris.

This is the ninth shipment of vaccines from this laboratory to be distributed throughout Chile, giving continuity to the COVID-19 vaccination rollout established by the Government of Chile. Counting the total vaccines received from Pfizer-BioNTech, Sinovac laboratories and the 158,000 AstraZeneca doses acquired under the Covax agreement, the country has received 17,719,476 doses.

“Chile is one of the countries in the world that has received the highest number of Chinese vaccines, which shows the special support from the government and the people of China to Chile’s fight against COVID-19. This also reflects the high reciprocal trust, close coordination and efficient actions of both parties,” said the Chinese Ambassador to Chile, Niu Qingbao.

According to data from the Health Statistics and Data Department (Departamento de Estadística e Información de Salud, DEIS), 14,872,524 doses have been administered to date. Of these, 8,136,214 people have received a single dose of the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine and 6,736,310 people are fully vaccinated, i.e., 53.5% and 44.3% of the target population, respectively. Among this group, there are 2,993,773 senior citizens aged 60 and above who have been vaccinated.

Similarly, the International Economic Affairs Undersecretary, Rodrigo Yáñez highlighted that this is the result of an effort that began in early 2020 through a joint initiative between the two countries. “We have worked tirelessly from the Foreign Affairs Ministry to bring vaccines to Chile and to have one of the most efficient and ambitious vaccination schedules worldwide,” he said.

According to the vaccination rollout established by the Health Ministry, from May 3 to 9, 2021, the vaccine will be administered to people from 44 to 40 years; and the coming week from May 10 to May 16, to people from 39 to 35 years.

Finally, Minister Enrique Paris stressed that people should not let down their guard with self-care measures, irrespective of the successful vaccination rollout. “Vaccinating is one side of the strategy. We should not forget, and we will reiterate the importance of wearing masks, physical distancing and respecting the curfew, avoiding underground pandemic parties and of course, getting vaccinated. These all complement each other in stopping the spread of coronavirus in Chile,” concluded the minister.