President Piñera is vaccinated against COVID-19: “I’m proud of the way that the Chileans have faced this pandemic with courage, discipline and resilience”
The President’s vaccination was in line with the national plan, as senior citizens aged 71 and 72 were scheduled for this Friday on the COVID-19 vaccination calendar. So far, more than 1.5 million people in Chile have been vaccinated against COVID-19.
The President of Chile, Sebastián Piñera, received the first dose of the vaccine against COVID-19 this Friday in the Municipality of Futrono, Los Ríos Region.
The vaccination of the President with the first dose of CoronaVac from the Sinovac laboratory was in line with the Health Ministry’s plan, as senior citizens aged 71 and 72 were scheduled for this Friday on the COVID-19 vaccination calendar.
“We’re going to push forward with this mass vaccination rollout. Next week, we will begin vaccinating senior citizens between 65 and 70 years of age and we will continue until we have reached every one of our fellow Chileans. The year 2020 was tough, a year of great hardship. Together, we’re going to make 2021 the year of hope,” said the President.
The first phase of the vaccination started on December 24, 2020, with the inoculation of critical healthcare personnel who work in Intensive Care Units.
A second stage was rolled out on February 3, 2021 with the mass vaccination of senior citizens over 90, primary healthcare and National Minors’ Service (SENAME) personnel, as well as people working in the health residences and in long-term residential care homes for senior citizens.
Since then, new groups of senior citizens have been added on a daily basis to the calendar. This week the campaign was focused on essential workers providing direct service to citizens, like those working in pharmacies, laboratories, the armed forces and police forces, as well people with key government functions.
As of today, 1,550,594 people have been vaccinated in Chile.
“I want to tell all my fellow Chileans that this vaccine is safe and effective and that we’ve made an enormous effort to be able to vaccinate each and every Chilean,” said President Piñera.
The nationwide rollout began with the arrival in January of almost 4 million Sinovac vaccines, which will continue to arrive over the coming weeks, reaching a total of more than 10 million doses in the first quarter.
“I’d also like to say that the way that the Chileans have dealt with this pandemic is known and admired worldwide and I’m proud of the way that the Chileans have faced this pandemic with courage, discipline and resilience,” stated the President.
The Government’s plan is to vaccinate the majority of the people in critical groups —approximately 5 million people — during the first quarter of 2021 and vaccinate the vast majority of the target population in Chile — around 15 million people — during the first half of 2021.