Covid-19: Vaccination begins in Chile, one of the first countries in Latin America
Chile has become one of the first three countries in Latin America to be vaccinated against Covid-19.
Here, caregiver Zulema Riquelme, at Metropolitan Hospital, Santiago, December 24, 2020 © REUTERS - CHILE'S PRESIDENCY
Text by: RFI Follow
2 min
The coronavirus vaccination campaign began Friday, December 24 in Chile, as well as in Mexico and Costa Rica, the first countries in Latin America to vaccinate their populations.
The Chilean government has decided to make the vaccine free and on a voluntary basis.
And even if Chileans say they are in favor of vaccination at 70%, the vaccine against Covid-19 generates doubts and apprehensions.
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With our correspondent in Santiago,
Naïla Derroisné
Among Chileans, 70% agree to be vaccinated but many want to wait to do it like Pamela Manriquez, primary school teacher: "
I want to be sure that the vaccine is good, that nothing is going to me" happen and that there are no side effects, etc.
"
The
Chilean government
wants to vaccinate 15 million people by the first half of 2021, or 80% of the population.
And this is for a very specific reason, according to Pamela: “
The state, the government, wants people to be vaccinated and then reactivate the country's economy more quickly.
"
For general practitioner Diego Espinola, it is very good to have started to vaccinate in December.
“
In six months it's winter in Chile and we will already have started to vaccinate.
So if there is a second wave coming, the most vulnerable people will have already been immunized by the middle of next year
, ”Diego hopes.
Hope for a return to normal life after months of restrictive measures.
“
People are fed up with the pandemic.
They can no longer be locked up, confinement, not being
able to work, unemployment
, explains Pamela.
That's why we still want the vaccine, it's to quickly return to our life before
.
"
The first vaccine administered is that of Pfizer-BioNTech but other orders have already been placed with various laboratories.
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