Chile receives new shipment of Chinese-made COVID-19 vaccines

SANTIAGO - A new batch of CoronaVac vaccine from China's Sinovac arrived in Chile on Saturday to become part of the country's vaccination campaign against the COVID-19.

The shipment was received at Santiago Airport by Chilean Health Minister Enrique Paris and Deputy Health Minister Paula Daza.

"We are receiving a new shipment of vaccines from China. Therefore, we will continue with our mass vaccination campaign," Paris said.

Daza said the vaccination program would continue until herd immunity was hopefully reached by June 30, with the vaccination of 80 percent of the susceptible population.

To date, Chile has vaccinated 7,354,826 people, of which 4,643,082 have already received both doses.

Up to 2,942,898 people aged 60 and above have been immunized, contributing to fewer hospitalizations and lower mortality in the age group.

The Sinovac vaccine was approved for emergency use in Chile on Jan 20.

Chile's mass vaccination program began on Feb 3 with the aim of immunizing 15 million of the 19 million people in the country during the first half of 2021.