People receive a vaccine against Covid-19 in Santiago (Chile), in February 2022.JAVIER TORRES (AFP)
The Chilean Health authorities have closely watched the gradual increase in covid cases, a record that appears almost two months after the health alert that was in force for more than three years due to the spread of the coronavirus ended. The increase in infections has motivated the reactivation of the vaccination campaign, which has remained stagnant for almost a year after millions of people received at least five doses.
During the pandemic, the South American country was one of the first to obtain vaccines for a large part of its population. By 2022, the majority of citizens over 18 years of age had received at least two booster doses, pending the application of the bivalent formula, which includes protection against the omicron variant, which became predominant throughout the planet due to at the high speed of contagion. Starting in 2023, and with the end of the emergency, the inoculation process decreased in intensity.
The rise in cases
The figures for covid infections in Chile in 2023 are far from the worst days of the pandemic, when 10,000 daily infections were even reached. During the summer and fall months the numbers remained low, contrasting with the explosive outbreak of syncytial virus that affected a large part of the territory in May. This stability ended during the second semester, specifically between August 25 and September 2, when 614 confirmed cases were registered, with an increase of 28.5% compared to the previous week.
In the following weeks the numbers continued with a sustained increase. Between Sunday, September 24 and Saturday, September 30, 1,421 confirmed cases were registered, a 66% increase compared to the previous week. In October, between the 8th and 14th of this month, 2,083 new confirmed cases were recorded, a 15.5% increase, with a daily average of 298 cases.
The return of masks
Chile ended the health alert for covid on August 31, ending the mandatory use of masks for health establishments such as hospitals, clinics and offices. The recent increase in infections led some places to reverse this measure, such as the Van Buren Hospital in the city of Valparaíso, 120 kilometers from Santiago de Chile, which ordered the use of face masks for all its patients and users.
The vaccination campaign
The increase in coronavirus cases has motivated the left-wing government of President Gabriel Boric to reactivate the vaccination campaign with the bivalent formula. One of the main concerns of the Ministry of Health (Minsal) is that a part of the population has not received a booster for more than a year, which could reduce their protection against the virus. Added to this is a small part of the citizenry who never received a dose.
Who should receive the booster dose
Vaccination against covid in Chile is voluntary and is provided by the State. In the reactivation of the campaign, the most vulnerable people will be prioritized, including health workers, immunocompromised people and those over 80 years of age who have completed 12 months since their bivalent vaccination. Those interested in the inoculation process can learn the data on the location of the vaccination centers through the official website I Vacuno.
2023-11-04 04:30:00
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