SANTIAGO (HPD) — Chile on Tuesday began immunization with the bivalent vaccine for health officials and immunosuppressed people who are among the groups most at risk of contracting COVID-19.
Chile is the first country in Latin America and the Caribbean to apply the vaccine that protects against the original virus of the coronavirus that causes the pandemic and its omicron variant. The bivalent immunizer is the fifth dose that is applied in the South American country and will be annual and free, according to the authorities.
The first group to receive the bivalent vaccine is made up of 1.3 million people, and later it will be extended to another 3.7 million with chronic diseases, obesity and all those over 60 years of age, explained the Minister of Health, Ximena Aguilera
The authority declared that if it is detected that there is a drop in the immunity of other population groups, they will be incorporated into the vaccination program.
In Chile, 88.9% of those under 18 years of age are vaccinated and in the elderly, coverage reaches 94.3%, according to figures from the Ministry of Health.
At the beginning of October, the South American country eliminated the use of the mask, which is only mandatory in health centers; the mobility pass that was obtained after the first two doses of vaccines and the capacity in the open and closed enclosures.
Chile, with almost 20 million inhabitants, has registered 4.5 million infected and just over 60,000 deaths since the arrival of the pandemic two and a half years ago.