Public Health Undersecretary Paula Daza, Health Networks Undersecretary Alberto Dougnac and Metropolitan Regional Health Secretary (SEREMI) Paula Labra visited the Metropolitan Hospital to attend the inoculation process of the second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for the first health workers in the country vaccinated on December 24.
The health workers are Zulema Riquelme, a TENS nurse at the Sótero del Río Hospital and the first health worker in the country to receive the vaccine on December 24, as well as Adriana Arias, a nurse, Óscar Antonio Vera, a physical therapist and Ruth Herrera, a nurse’s aid. All three work in the ICU of the Metropolitan Hospital.
After receiving the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine 21 days ago they were ready to receive the second dose, which completes their immunization schedule.
This is an important milestone in the National Vaccination Plan for COVID-19. The vaccine’s second dose was administered between January 13 and 15 to all health workers of the Critical Patient Units who received their first inoculation between December 24 and 26, thus completing the vaccination scheme required to be immunized against the virus.
“We are here with Zulema, Ruth, Óscar and Adriana, 4 of the first people vaccinated in the country. Once the required 21-day wait period between the first and second dose was over, they were inoculated to complete the vaccination scheme. We thank each of them and all health workers who are responding to this vaccination plan because we know that the vaccine not only serves to protect the person as an act of solidarity. They are all workers who have been attending COVID-19 patients, which is why it is so important for them to be protected as well as their patients and families,” the Undersecretary said.
She added that “there were 8,650 second doses stored in ultra cold freezers that were distributed on Wednesday in the Metropolitan, Biobío, La Araucanía and Magallanes regions. This concluded the vaccination scheme for the first people inoculated in these regions.”
Meanwhile, Health Networks Undersecretary Alberto Dougnac emphasized that “this progressive and voluntary vaccination plan contemplates all other health workers. During this preliminary stage, we vaccinated workers in Intensive Care Units, but we will now continue to vaccinate all other health workers including those attending emergency services, primary health care centers and staff working in long-term care residences for senior citizens (ELEAM).
Metropolitan Regional Health Secretary (SEREMI) Paula Labra explained that while the second dose was being administered to 5,820 health workers across the region, another 1,960 health workers of the Metropolitan Region in more than 31 health centers received their first dose of the vaccine. “This was made possible due to the coordinated effort of six health services and their directors. We have SEREMI staff in different centers overseeing that this is carried out correctly. We call on everyone to not lower their guard. We must continue to protect ourselves, and we will continue moving forward in this process that is a source of so much hope.”
Zulema Riquelme was the first person vaccinated in the country and received the second dose on Thursday. “I call on all people to get vaccinated and to continue taking care of themselves. The vaccine is safe,” she said.
The progress made in the vaccination campaign is in addition to the arrival of the third shipment of COVID-19 vaccines to Chile, which brought 88,725 new doses from the Pfizer-BioNTech laboratories to be distributed to seven regions around the country where vaccination has not yet started. The vaccines in these regions will be administered to all health workers in public and private healthcare centers including primary healthcare. The regions included are Arica y Parinacota, Antofagasta, Atacama, Coquimbo, O’Higgins, Ñuble and Aysén.
This will also soon allow vaccinating other at-risk target groups such as senior citizens residing in long-term residences (ELEAM).