How Chile became a leader in Covid-19 vaccination
SANTIAGO,
CHILE - JANUARY 28: : President of Chile Sebastian Piñera walks next to
a vaccine container during the arrival of around 1.92 million of
CoronaVac vaccine doses of the SINOVAC laboratory from Beijing, China,
at Arturo Merino Benitez International Airport on January 28, 2021 in
Santiago, Chile. Chilean Institute of Public Health approved the
emergency use of the Chinese Sinovac vaccine for adults between 18 and
59 years old. (Photo by Marcelo Hernandez/Getty Images)
(CNN)It was late May. The world was helplessly watching as the Covid-19 pandemic advanced unimpeded country after country in what would later be called "the first wave" of infections. After China, Italy and the UK had become the virus hotspots, cities in the United States, especially New York, followed. And then in late spring, the coronavirus spread throughout South America.
By May 27, Chile, along with Peru, had reached the world's highest infection rates per capita
over a seven-day rolling average, according to Our World in Data
(OWID), an independent statistics website headquartered at Oxford
University. Chile was rapidly approaching 80,000 infections and more than 800 people had already died by then.
Fast
forward nine months and the Chile is in a totally different category.
While some Latin American countries like Nicaragua have yet to receive
any vaccine, the Andean nation of 19 million had already given more than
one million vaccine doses by February 9th. It hit two-million Monday
and the immunization pace continues to improve.
With 12.43 people vaccinated for every 100 people, Chile now has the fifth highest vaccination rate per capita in the world after Israel (79.48), the United Arab Emirates (53.43), the United Kingdom (24.3) and the United States (17.00).
It's
doing even better than the European Union (5.19) and China (2.82) and
its rate is four times better than Brazil, which has the second best
rate in Latin American (2.77), according to data from Oxford
University's "Our World in Data" database.
How was Chile able to turn things around so dramatically?
First,
its government decided very early on to spare no effort in acquiring a
vaccine... any vaccine. The Chilean government has arranged for the
purchase of 35.7 million doses so far, which means that it will have the ability to vaccinate more than 90 percent of its population.
According
to Chilean Health Minister Dr. Enrique Paris, the country has acquired
or is in the process or receiving 10 million doses of the
Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine and an additional 10 million from Sinovac. The
country later reached agreements with Covax (WHO), Johnson & Johnson
and Astrazeneca to reach the 35.7 million total.
CNNE
medical contributor Doctor Elmer Huerta, a public health and Latin
American health policy expert, says this multi-pronged strategy has been
very successful. "Chile didn't hesitate to make contracts with
Sinovac, Pfizer or AstraZeneca. The key was that very early on Chile
realized it was necessary to close multiple deals with vaccine makers.
In Latin America, Chile is one of the best-positioned countries to do
business and that has given it an advantage," Huerta said.
And
then, Chilean authorities have been busy, turning any public space they
can into a vaccination center. CNN recently visited a courtyard at the
campus of the Pontifical Cahtolic University of Chile in Santiago. A
space where you would normally see college students mingling had been
converted into a highly organized and efficient clinic, one of many
Covid-19 vaccination centers around the country.
Gabriela
Valderrama, a Santiago resident who got her shot at the college campus,
described the process as "fantastic" and "very well organized. I think
it's phenomenal that they have different days for different age
groups," she said.
In
addition to schools and government buildings, health authorities have
opened up vaccination sites around the country in places like shopping
malls and football (soccer) stadiums.
"One
thing is purchasing a vaccine and having it available and a totally
different thing is injecting it into people's arms. That's what
logistics is all about. Chile has had great distribution and
vaccination. It has opened vaccination center in strategic places that
are close and convenient to people, as opposed to the United States
where we started vaccinating people at hospitals and large sites where
people quickly got crowded," Dr. Huerta said.
Edgardo
Cruz, a 71-year-old Santiago resident who got his first shot the
Pontifical Catholic University of Chile site, says he's proud of the
effort made so far.
"We
are an international role model now. I think it buying vaccines and
investing [in purchases] since May was an effort that paid off," Cruz
said.
A unified message about social distancing from the government, from top to bottom, and mask use hasn't hurt either.
President
Sebastián Piñera himself, who's 71 years old, and was therefore
eligible to get the shot last week, took advantage of the opportunity to
make a point... wearing a mask, of course.
"I
would like to let my fellow citizens know that this vaccine is safe,
it's effective and that we have made an enormous effort to inoculate all
Chileans, all citizens of our country," he said after receiving the
first shot of the Chinese-made Sinovac vaccine that will be followed by a
second one on March 15.
"Chile
also left politics aside. The country's politicians realized that
Covid-19 was the enemy and dialed down tensions between political
parties, working together towards the unified goal of controlling the
pandemic," Huerta said.
And
while other countries have struggled to decide who should get the
vaccine after frontline workers, Chilean authorities came up with a vaccination schedule that is being followed to the letter.
After healthcare workers, the focus was the elderly. teachers, pharmacists and police officers became eligible Monday.
At
less than 19 million, Chile's relatively small population size is also
an advantage. It means each vaccine goes further toward the goal of
national herd immunity, especially when compared with larger populations
like those of Brazil, China or the European Union.
The
Health Ministry's goal is vaccinating five-million people by the end of
March and four out five Chileans before the first half of 2021 is over.
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