President Piñera receives 1.5 million Moderna vaccines and announces new COVID-19 protection and rehabilitation measures
The plan includes greater resources for patient rehabilitation and medicine provision. It will also strengthen care and the home care network, expand the mental health program, and provide better technology for hospitals.
The President of Chile, Sebastián Piñera, received the first shipment of 1.5 million Moderna vaccines this Wednesday. The vaccines will allow the country to move forward in providing a fourth COVID-19 dose. The President also announced new measures for people’s protection and rehabilitation due to the pandemic.
The first shipment of 1.5 million messenger RNA (mRNA) Moderna vaccines arrived in Chile this morning. The vaccine has shown excellent effectiveness results around the world. The new contract, totaling three million vaccines, together with other contracts, will ensure that there will be enough doses to successfully carry out the fourth dose vaccination campaign.
“We can assure you that we have the required vaccines to apply a fourth dose to everyone who needs it,” the President explained at an event in the Macul district of Santiago. He was accompanied by Health Minister Enrique Paris, Health Undersecretary María Teresa Valenzuela, Healthcare Networks Undersecretary Alberto Dougnac, and International Economic Relations Undersecretary Rodrigo Yáñez.
“This successful, large-scale vaccination plan, together with the self-care measures that people are taking, the testing, traceability and isolation program, the Step-by-Step Plan, and the great contribution being made by health workers have allowed us to administer more than 45 million vaccines, in 1,500 vaccination centers throughout the country,” the President emphasized.
He also announced an increase in resources for healthcare networks and primary healthcare to strengthen COVID-19 treatment, patient rehabilitation, medicine provision, and home care, expand the mental health program, and provide better technology for hospitals.
The plan aims increase the complexity of the available hospital beds, and better administer home hospital care and emergency care. It also improves home medicine provision for chronic patients, rehabilitation for patients with COVID-19, and the actions of healthcare centers and the Emergency Medical Care Service (Servicio de Atención Médica de Urgencia, SAMU).
The President also announced the expansion of the Saludamente (Healthy Mind) Program through a psychosocial support plan. The plan includes care for people with mental health problems caused by the effects of COVID-19 and its consequences, and plans to reduce secondary mental health waiting lists.
“We are continuing to move forward; we are continuing to safeguard the health and the lives of all Chileans, and we will do so until the last day of our administration,” President Piñera concluded.