Amazon inoculation gains momentum

The Amazon jungle and Chile are reporting promising vaccination results with Chinese help, according to experts.

"The CoronaVac biologic is a very good vaccine. The World Health Organization studies, as well as those of Chile, have shown a very good effectiveness of the vaccines that are being used in Colombia," said Luis Jorge Hernandez, a member of the Covida project in Colombia.

Between June 23 and July 31, only three people died from the novel coronavirus in the Colombian region of the Amazon, where 253 have died since the pandemic started.

"The figures show a notable decrease in mortality cases," Hernandez said.

Covida, a project by the University of Los Andes, is an initiative aimed at tracking the virus.

The Sinovac Biotech vaccine has been a key asset for Colombia in its fight against the pandemic. In February, the Colombian health ministry deployed several batches of the vaccine in the Amazon region to prevent the P.1 strain that was spreading out of neighboring Brazil, where it was first detected.

"The Amazon rainforest was witness to this COVID-19 tragedy and we endured very hard days," said Yenica Acosta, a member of the Colombian parliament. "An epidemiological wall was requested from the government and we achieved immediate vaccination in the main towns, which has given excellent results."

An epidemiological wall built with the vaccine is now showing its midterm results with a notable decrease in deaths, new COVID-19 cases and the number of patients admitted to ICUs.

Throughout July, just 223 new cases were reported in Colombia's Amazon region and there were no patients in the ICUs as of Aug 4.

"Vaccination has been one of the key strategies to reduce mortality due to the virus. That, in addition to the measures taken by our own indigenous tribes, as well as isolation, was key to prevent indigenous tribes from being seriously affected by the virus," said Acosta, speaking from Leticia town in the Amazon region.

Low storage requirements

As of Aug 4, almost 68,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines had been administered in the Colombian Amazon and most of those were CoronaVac, which is easier to distribute in the remote region because storage requirements are less demanding than those of most vaccines manufactured by Western companies. The Chinese vaccines can be stored and transported at temperatures between 2 and 8 C.

"A short time ago, we started vaccination in far rural areas located far away from Leticia and Puerto Narino, the second largest town in the region. Day by day, people have become more enthusiastic about the vaccination campaign and we've managed to have a great percentage of the population vaccinated," Acosta said.

She expects the campaign to reach 100 percent of the target population soon.

CoronaVac has been popular in much of Latin America. A plant to fill and finish vaccines will be built in Santiago, capital of Chile. Construction is to start in the first quarter of next year.

Hernandez said all vaccines that are being used around the world are being administered under emergency licenses, and CoronaVac has proved internationally to be effective and safe.

Chile has fully vaccinated more than half of its population of about 19 million people. It is estimated that more than 24 million doses of vaccines have been administered in the country.

Sebastian Ugarte, director of the Critical Care Medicine Program at Andres Bello University in Santiago, said the vaccination campaign in Chile has helped lower admissions to ICUs at a rate of 20 percent per week.

"We have reached a positivity rate of less than 1.8 percent in COVID-19 tests conducted," Ugarte said.

As for different strains of the coronavirus, like the Delta variant that is now causing surges in new cases around the world, Ugarte said no decision has been made yet on whether a third dose will be required.

"The emergence of the Delta strain in India and its spread to different continents has posed a major challenge to public health worldwide," he said. "We have initial reports showing a gradual reduction in the effectiveness of all vaccines available against this viral strain."

The writer is a freelance journalist for China Daily.