Chile buys 2 million doses of Moderna vaccine while the rise in coronavirus cases continues

Chile announced this Monday the signing of an agreement with the Moderna laboratory for the acquisition of two million vaccines against coronavirus, while in the country a new record of daily infections was registered again: 14,780 infected.

The announcement was made by the president Sebastian Pinera, who explained in a public activity that a contract had been signed for the acquisition of 2 million doses of the mRNA-1273 vaccine, from the laboratory Modern.

“The Moderna vaccine has had excellent results worldwide and with this agreement it joins the successful vaccination process developed in Chile”, The president affirmed, when the country registered a new record of infections of 14,780 infected in one day. The deceased, meanwhile, were 23, due to the expansion of the omicron variant.

The rise in infections, however, occurs in parallel with a 33% drop in hospitalizations due to the coronavirus in emergency units, according to official data.

Chile It is one of the countries with the highest vaccination coverage in the world. Out of a population of 18.9 million people over three years of age, the country reaches 88.8% coverage with a complete scheme and 72.4% with a booster dose.

The agreement with Modern It is subject to approval by the Public Health Institute, which will review the safety and efficacy of the vaccine in the coming weeks.

Pinera said the vaccines will reach Chile in three shipments over the next few months and will be part of the fourth dose campaign that the country has already begun to apply to immunocompromised people and health personnel.

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