Chile will administer booster dose of AstraZeneca to those immunized with Coronavac

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Government of Chile announced Thursday (5) that starting next August 11, it will initiate a “booster dose” program against Covid-19 using the AstraZeneca vaccine, for all persons over 55 years of age who have already completed their inoculation with Coronavac.

The booster dose will be administered in priority to the oldest persons and in the order in which the second doses of the original schedule were administered, thus prioritizing with criteria that follow those of the original vaccination.

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“Considering the evolution over time of the effectiveness of the vaccines and the risk posed by the Delta variant (…) and after having consulted experts, we have decided to initiate a reinforcement of the vaccination,” Chilean President Sebastián Piñera told the press.

The announcement comes two days after the Ministry of Health (Minsal) published the results of the study “Effectiveness of the Vaccination Program against SARS-CoV-2” that showed a decrease in the effectiveness of the Coronavac and Pfizer vaccines to prevent symptomatic infection.

The Government expects to vaccinate close to 2 million people aged 55 and over with booster doses during the first four weeks of this plan.

“We hope that with this booster dose, our older adults will be better protected if the presence of the delta variant or the appearance of others increases, as has occurred in this pandemic,” said the head of the Health Department Enrique Paris.

The Chilean health authorities stated that the measure was taken after having held meetings with various experts, including members of the World Health Organization, which yesterday called for a global moratorium on a third dose, due to the unequal distribution of vaccines in the world.

With the original vaccination program deployed in the country six months ago, more than 80% of the target population (comprised of more than 15 million people out of the country’s 19 million inhabitants) has been vaccinated.

SIX WEEKS WITH INFECTIONS DOWN

Regarding the progress of the pandemic in Chile, as of today, the positivity rate stood at 1.7%, confirming the downward trend of the last six weeks in the number of new infections.

According to the daily report, 1,223 new cases of covid-19 were detected, reaching a total of 1.62 million infected since March 2020. Of the total, 6,591 patients remain in the active stage of the disease, i.e., they have the capacity to spread the virus.

After a severe second wave that hit the country from March to July and brought the hospital network to the brink of collapse, critical beds are 85% full. To date, 1,241 people are hospitalized in intensive care units (ICU), of which 988 require mechanical ventilation support.

According to the Department of Statistics and Information (DEIS) of the Ministry of Health, 135 deaths were recorded in the last 24 hours due to causes associated with the coronavirus, bringing the total number of deaths to 35,806 since the beginning of the pandemic, but exceeding 45,000 considering suspected cases.

Today, 59 cases of the Delta variant have been confirmed in the country; the most contagious, of which 55 are related to travelers and 4 are of community transmission.

Since April, authorities have maintained the border closure for foreigners, and a curfew is in force in most of the national territory.