A Chilean woman holds up her vaccination card after she was injected with a second dose of China's Sinovac vaccine in Santiago
Credit: Esteban Felix /AP
Chile has begun administering second doses of Covid-19 vaccines as it presses ahead with an impressive vaccination campaign that has seen the Latin American nation become one of the fastest in the world.
Thanks to a strong public health network and a long history of effective immunisation campaigns, the government has been able to offer free jabs to almost one-quarter of its 19-million strong population in just over a month.
The country’s voluntary inoculations began on February 3 and since then more than 4.5 million people — mostly over-60s — have received at least one shot, giving a vaccination rate of nearly 25 doses per 100 people.
That puts it in the top 10 worldwide, and fifth in terms of countries with significant-sized populations — behind the US, UK, UAE and world-leader Israel.
Global vaccine rollout — top 10
Chile last week began administering second doses and is now on course to achieve herd immunity by 30 June.
“Chile has exceptional logistical capacity for vaccination campaigns,” said Dr Izkia Siches, the head of Chile’s medical union and a prominent voice throughout the pandemic.
“Our public health service has over 70 years’ experience and Chile has a national database which records inoculations digitally, facilitating the rollout of the campaign.”
Chile has a proud tradition of successfully managing ambitious vaccination programmes. It was the third country in the world to eradicate polio in 1975 and holds annual campaigns to inoculate at-risk populations against influenza.
Since detecting its first case on March 3 last year, just over 20,000 people have died from the virus.
Former health minister Jaime Mañalich was forced to resign last June amid fierce criticism over the government’s handling of the pandemic and transparency of coronavirus data.
But things have turned around since then.
Armed with a budget of $200m for vaccine procurement and rollout, Chile was able to use its integration in international trade networks to quickly purchase supplies from a number of sources, including SinoVac Biotech, Pfizer/BioNTech and AstraZeneca.
It has already bought more than 35m doses — enough to give two jabs to almost its entire population.
A security force member guards containers transporting a batch of Sinovac's Covid-19 vaccine at Santiago airport
Credit: IVAN ALVARADO /REUTERS
The vast majority of shots given out so far have come from China, thanks to an early cooperation agreement signed between SinoVac Biotech and Chile’s Catholic University last June that paved the way for vaccine trials in the country and super fast deliveries.
“Now the vaccines are being administered, this is a new phase for Chile after a difficult year,” said María Cecilia Rebolledo, 52, whose clothing business in southern Santiago was forced to shut for several months during lockdowns last year.
She is set to get her first shot next week due to an underlying health condition that puts her in a high-risk category and says the future is starting to look “slightly brighter” for both her and her company.
“We’re seeing things pick up bit by bit,” she said. “But cases are starting to build again and some parts of the country are moving back towards lockdown, so I really hope people are careful so we can stop the rise in infections.”
Teachers wait for their turn to receive a dose of the Chinese-made CoronaVac jab at a school in Santiago
Credit: MARTIN BERNETTI /AFP
The speedy rollout is in marked contrast to the rest of the region, which has suffered severely during the coronavirus pandemic.
Across South America, vaccine supplies have been slow to arrive and several countries have been hit by setbacks, with only Brazil and Argentina managing to vaccinate more than 1 per cent of their populations.
According to Rodrigo Yañez, the undersecretary in Chile’s trade ministry who has been negotiating vaccine agreements, the country was able to streak ahead because it acted decisively to secure early deals.
Mr Yañez also confirmed that Chile’s success has led to discussions with its neighbours over potential agreements to share supplies.
The Chilean government has run a parallel campaign encouraging people to take up the vaccine when offered, debunking myths around the vaccines and featuring testimonies from people who have already received theirs.
A man dressed as Superman accompanies his mother to get vaccinated in Santiago
Credit: Alberto Valdes/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
The number of people saying that they will not be vaccinated has fallen from 22 per cent on 18 December to just 10 per cent by 26 February, according to one pollster, and Dr Siches is hopeful that as the effectiveness of the vaccines is proven, uptake will increase further still.
The government is now mooting a vaccine passport-style scheme to help open the economy back up.
But with the winter months looming in the Southern Hemisphere and intensive care capacity likely to be stretched once more, Chile’s medical union is urging caution.
“While the vaccination campaign is going well, we must resist the temptation to open up abruptly,” said Dr Siches. “I understand the eagerness to reopen certain sectors, but I believe that doing so too soon would be a misstep.”
Government officials agree that the public needs to remain cautious despite the vaccination campaign’s clear success so far — last week, daily confirmed cases of the virus hit their highest rate in eight months at 5,325.
"Chile has a vaccination strategy under way that is very solid and has reached all corners of our territory and that is very good news," the country’s top public health official, Paula Daza, told Reuters.
"You have to strike a balance, to give people hope because it has been a hard year for everyone … but we also have to keep warning of the risks."
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