The arrival of COVID-19 vaccines continues at a steady pace. A new shipment of 1.7 million doses was delivered by the Moderna laboratory today.
The vaccine has proven to be effective in preventing 87.4% of deaths, 97.9% of hospitalizations and 95.8% of viral infections.
According to Health Minister Begoña Yarza, the vaccine represents an important strategy, above all when given as a first and second booster dose. On February 3, it was approved for use on children over 12 years of age and, on February 23, for children over 6 years of age.
"The great news is that we have a vaccine supply, the capacity to distribute it and a vaccination campaign that has been increasingly successful," said Minister Yarza. She added, "vaccines are safe and effective, as studies have proven. We hope people stay protected this winter and receive their dose."
The arrival of 1,700,000 doses from the Moderna laboratory takes the total number delivered by the pharmaceutical company to 3,699,200. The total number of COVID-19 vaccine doses that have entered Chile already exceeds 59,492,000. In addition, 52,777,202 doses of the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine have been administered in the country to date.
"80% of the population have received their first booster dose, which is excellent news, because in addition to achieving 94% coverage with primary schemes, we have advanced to a high level of coverage with the first booster dose. But we know that six months after receiving the booster dose, immunity begins to decline. We therefore call for everyone to go to their vaccination center to receive the vaccine free of charge", emphasized Public Health Undersecretary Cristóbal Cuadrado.
Regarding the vaccination rate, Minister Yarza indicated that every day 100,000 doses are being administered, the reason being the implementation of new outreach strategies.
"The outreach strategy allows us to visit different sectors to administer vaccines and take the doses everywhere. We are happy with the speed of vaccination; however, we must encourage those who are lagging behind," she insisted.
In this regard, she added that the age group that causes most concern is preschoolers, where 30% coverage with the fourth dose has been recorded. "We will continue to talk to mothers and try to reduce concerns. Clear and effective information for caregivers will allow us to reverse the vaccination rate, which is lower in children between 3 and 5 years of age," Minister Yarza concluded.