According to TV3, the Chinese vaccine against Covid-19, Sinovac, will be administered to the players and staff of the Argentine selection, as part of their participation in the Copa America.
Lionel Messi and his team-mates will be vaccinated against the coronavirus before the start of the Copa América (June 13-July 10). Catalan television TV3 said Thursday that the Argentina national team will benefit from the 50,000 doses of the Chinese Sinovac vaccine received in Uruguay by the South American Football Confederation (Conmebol).
The doses are offered by the company Sinovac Biotech. They will “guarantee the safety of the protagonists of the Copa América”, according to Alejandro Dominguez, the president of Conmebol, present in an airport near Montevideo at the arrival of the flight carrying the vaccine. Chinese Ambassador to Uruguay Wang Gang, also present at the airport, said there would be “a before and after in relations between China and Conmebol in general, and between China and the Copa America in particular “.
Vaccination is not compulsory
The distribution of doses to the various associations will begin imminently and the vaccination campaign will be completed before the start of the Copa América, co-organized by Argentina and Colombia. The doses will be administered as a priority to the players and their staff, before being injected to the referees and the staff in charge of the organization. “Players who choose not to be vaccinated will not be penalized or excluded from competitions” of the Conmebol, assured the instance.
According to the Chilean government, which uses the Chinese vaccine, it has been shown to be 67% effective in preventing symptomatic cases of Covid-19 and 80% in preventing deaths, according to a first study published on Friday. Chile, with a population of 19 million, is the most advanced country in Latin America in terms of vaccination and one of the first in the world. More than 7.6 million people have already received a dose, and more than 5 million are already vaccinated.
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