On May 3, the investigation regarding the the impact of the vaccination campaign in Chile (Direct impact of the Covid-19 vaccine in Chile), which was carried out by researchers from the Center for Mathematical Modeling (CMM) and Dr. Mauricio Canals, from the School of Public Health of the University of Chile, which saw a significant reduction. of the disease, as a result of inoculation campaigns.
Among the findings, the study specifically measures, during the 2021 and 2022 campaigns, vaccination prevented 1,030,648 cases, 268,784 hospitalizations, 85,830 admissions to Intensive Care Units (ICU) and 75,968 deaths related to Covid-19 in people 16 years of age or older.
Used as a way of comparing the frequency of events between those who were vaccinated and those who were not, the figures translate into a reduction (from age 16) of 26% in cases, 66% in the hospital, 70% in ICU. admissions, and 67% in deaths.
Dr. Mauricio Canals tells La Tercera that “before this study, it could be said that it was good or bad, but now we can have the numbers, in a way that we evaluate the vaccination campaign as a successful campaign“.
In 2021 Chile began a mass vaccination process. Antoine Brault, a doctor in Mathematics from the University Paul Sabatier Toulouse III and part of the research team, explains that during the Covid pandemic, “Chile was one of the first countries in the world to have its population vaccinated”.
The basic key to the campaign was the speed of action, this regarding the purchase of vaccines and the high coverage it received. By the end of 2021, 84% of the population had been vaccinated with at least one dose, a percentage that increased over time, reaching October 2023 to 94% (from 18 years of age who had completed the primary vaccination).
The measure adopted was the application of the second dose, which is precisely the one that achieved the greatest number of preventable events, which translates into a greater number of inhabitants than 14 million.
Another factor supporting the process is the country’s vaccination culture, which has existed since the birth of the Bacteriological Institute: “Chile has had a vaccination culture since the compulsory vaccination law appeared. As soon as the State asked, people got the vaccine quickly and they got a very high vaccination coverage,” says Canals.
According to the figures, the over 55 age group, which represents 30% of the population, accounted for the majority of hospitalizations, ICU admissions, and deaths on avoid them.
The research team highlighted the campaign’s strategy of age-based prioritization, as this way more attention can be paid to the most vulnerable populations and the overall burden on health systems can be reduced.
Although it is criticized other aspects of epidemiological management, such as the effectiveness of dynamic quarantine and the relaxation of sanitary measures, from the point of view of vaccination, Canals believes that it is very clear that a very good effect has been producedreinforces the idea that the culture of public health is prevention, highlighting the fundamental role that vaccination campaigns play in avoiding infectious diseases.
According to Minsal figures, until the end of 2023, more than 5.3 million cases of Covid have been reported, and 62 thousand deaths from it.
Currently in circulation are the omicron variant, which itself includes some sub-variants with its different strains (notably the XBB1.5 strain and the BA2.86).
With the emergence of the variants, despite the reduction in the mortality rate, an increase in the transmission of the disease has been evident.
2024-05-09 00:59:51
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