“Walmart Chile and Ministry of Health Sign Agreement to Ramp Up Vaccination Efforts in Supermarkets Nationwide”

–The Undersecretary of Public Health signed an agreement with the parent company of the Lider chain, to deploy vaccination points in the country’s supermarkets. The initiative aims to strengthen and bring the operations of the “Vaccinate with the Dupla” campaign closer to the population with more than 20 new points in 15 regions of the country.

The Undersecretary of Public Health, Andrea Albagli; the Seremi de Salud RM, Gonzalo Soto, and the Operations Manager of Lider from Walmart Chile, Cristóbal Gandini, participated in a vaccination operation at the Lider supermarket in Maipú, as part of this alliance

“We are sincerely grateful for the willingness that Walmart has shown in this joint work. We are celebrating an unprecedented agreement that has allowed us, as the Ministry of Health, to bring vaccination closer to people in different parts of the country, precisely thanks to the willingness that Walmart has had in its LIDER supermarkets to enter their physical space so that our teams of vaccination can offer this service to all customers who go to the supermarket,” said the Undersecretary of Public Health, Andrea Albagli.

The agreement signed between the Minsal and Walmart Chile – matrix of the Lider, Express de Lider, SuperBodega aCuenta and Central Mayorista formats – consists of the implementation of vaccination points in supermarkets in 15 regions of the country, available until the end of May. Through this public-private alliance, the authorities seek to add the supermarket chain to the crusade to fight against Covid-19 and respiratory diseases, such as influenza.

“We are proud to once again be part of a vaccination process that has undoubtedly been crucial for us as a country to be able to cope with this pandemic. As a company, we know that our role goes beyond being a supplier agent. We have a firm social commitment and we are always available to carry out collaborative work with the authorities,” explained Walmart Chile’s Lider Operations Manager, Cristóbal Gandini.

The Undersecretary of Public Health, Andrea Albagli, highlighted “we know that a very difficult winter is coming. For the first time after the pandemic we will have a viral circulation of respiratory diseases at the same time as Influenza, Covid-19 and other respiratory viruses such as the respiratory syncytial virus. All of that makes it even more important that we protect ourselves this winter through vaccination.”

It should be noted that this alliance adds to those previously carried out for the vaccination process at Walmart Chile locations during the most critical months of the pandemic. Regarding this, Cristobal Gandini explained that “as a company, we know that our role goes beyond being a supplier agent. We have a firm social commitment and we are always available to carry out collaborative work with the authorities”. In the same way, the executive highlighted the company’s commitment to the health and well-being of the community, for which reason “we will continue working together with the Ministry of Health to contribute to the success of this vaccination campaign. We invite all our customers to go to the vaccination points available in our stores, and to follow the recommendations of the health authorities to protect themselves and their loved ones”.

Thanks to the high flow of customers who pass through the supermarkets, the alliance seeks to benefit the entire national population – being especially focused on the group of people prioritized over 60 years of age – for which the operation of the points at peak times was determined. customer flow to ensure the process is fast, safe and efficient.

For his part, the RM Health Seremi, Gonzalo Soto, expressed that “we must take advantage of all these strategies and vaccination points to be able to protect ourselves against Covid-19. We have the whole winter ahead of us, we are in autumn and at this moment there are 200 points in the Metropolitan Region, between private and public, that are available to vaccinate us. On weekends there are more than 70 points, to also be able to bring the vaccines closer at times that are difficult for people during the week and also extra-mural points ”.