DEC. 1, 2020

President Piñera speaks about the National Covid-19 Vaccination Strategy

The President stated that the strategy is designed to ensure that there will be vaccines for over 15 million Chileans.

President Sebastián Piñera met with Health Minister Enrique Paris and Science Minister Andrés Couve on Tuesday morning to discuss the National Covid-19 Vaccination Strategy.

At the meeting, the President reviewed the progress made in talks and the main agreements reached between the government and the world’s most prestigious laboratories.

“We’ve reached agreements or signed contracts with many of the world’s most promising pharmaceutical companies, such as Pfizer, Sinovac, Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca and others. We’ve also been part of the global Covax initiative for months now. This is led by the World Health Organization, with the participation of the European Union, whose objective is to ensure that member states have access to a safe and effective vaccine. Our objective is to be able to count on diverse options in terms of vaccines and technologies,” the President said.  

The National COVID-19 Vaccination Strategy is designed to ensure that the vaccine will be available to 15.2 million people. The first phase of the vaccination process will prioritize health care workers, transport workers, the armed forces and police officers.

“Our goal is to start the vaccination process during the first quarter of next year (…). Vaccines will be given on a volunteer basis and will be free of charge. We will take account of health approval granted by organizations like the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency and they must also have been approved by Chile’s Public Health Institute,” President Sebastián Piñera said.

Despite the promising progress made with vaccines in Chile and around the world, the President called on the people of Chile to continue to take care to avoid being infected with Covid-19, especially during year-end festivities. “This is the best way to avoid having a second wave of the virus, like the ones occurring today in developed countries such as those in Europe and in the U.S.,” the President said.

The President also announced that special plans have already been developed to increase the testing, contact tracing and quarantine programs over the Christmas and New Year holidays.