Chile’s Health Minister Ximena Aguilera, together with Public Health Undersecretary Cristóbal Cuadrado and Healthcare Networks Undersecretary Fernando Araos, have given the go ahead for the inoculation process with the bivalent COVID-19 vaccine to get underway. They were speaking from the Atacama Community Family Health Center (COCOSF) in the municipality of San Miguel, Santiago. During the first stage, healthcare workers and immunocompromised people will be prioritized as the target group for inoculation.
“The unique thing about this vaccine is that it incorporates the Wuhan and Omicron strains into its formula. The latter is a variant of the initial virus that has a very high transmission capacity, which allowed it to spread throughout the planet. Therefore, having this bivalent vaccine allows us to better match the vaccine with the virus that is circulating, just like the influenza vaccine, which varies from year to year,” Minister Aguilera stated. She added that Chile is the first Latin American country to incorporate this vaccine into its National Immunization Plan (PNI).
At the event, the health minister recognized the work of healthcare workers employed in primary healthcare (APS). She also emphasized the role of the healthcare sector in responding to the health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic over the last two years.
“I want to thank the work of all those working in primary healthcare. I remind you that we are in Mental Health Week, and the mental health of our employees is one of our main concerns. That is why this vaccination measure is so important, to protect them and make them feel more supported, making them the first group to be inoculated with this vaccine,” the minister highlighted.
Finally, the health minister repeated the call not to neglect self-care measures and for those who have not yet done so to receive their booster doses and complete their vaccination scheme.
“As the government, we will continue to promote all necessary measures to protect the population, providing information such as recommended facemask use in places where there are crowds and mandatory use in healthcare centers. We want people to keep taking care of themselves. We are not totally certain that the pandemic will not return or that a new variant will not emerge, hence the importance of getting vaccinated,” she stressed.
Who should get vaccinated?
During the first stage, which will run from October 11 to 28, inoculation with the bivalent COVID-19 vaccine will be aimed at healthcare workers -including clinical and administrative staff- working in in- and out-patient care, medical and dental services, clinical support services such as laboratories, radiology, pharmacy, pathology services, food, transport, security and hygiene services, and healthcare students who are in clinical practice.
Immunosuppressed people will also be vaccinated during this stage, including dialysis patients, solid-organ transplant patients (heart, lung, kidney, liver and pancreas), those who have received hematopoietic stem cell transplants (bone marrow), cancer treatment patients, and those with autoimmune diseases who are receiving biological treatments.
The vaccination process will be carried out in public and private vaccination centers, in agreement with the respective regional secretaries of the health ministry (SEREMI).
Vaccination is free and the administration calendar will be available on Health Ministry platforms and social networks.
Source: Health Ministry