This Thursday the highest authorities of the Minsal -the Minister Ximena Aguilera, the Undersecretary of Public Health, Cristóbal Cuadrado, and the Undersecretary of Assistance Networks, Fernando Araos- announced from the Ministry of Health expanding priority groups that they will be able to receive the Bivalent vaccine, annual inoculation once morest Covid that contains both the original strain from Wuhan and Ómicron, and that allows the population to be protected once morest the new variants that have emerged in recent times.
According to the figures of the Department of Health Statistics and Information (DEIS), More than three months following the arrival of the bivalent vaccine in Chile, the coverage has reached only 27% of the target population, Therefore, the decision was made to expand the groups and thus ensure greater coverage in the country.
“We need to reinforce our actions to increase this vaccination coverage”, indicated the minister Aguilera when announcing the announcement. She specified that, “in line with the expert committee requests y different opinions that they have sent us to the ministry, and according to the epidemiological analysis we have done, We have decided that we are going to expand the groups to be vaccinated with this Bivalent vaccine to other risk groups”.
On Wednesday the opposition mayors, Evelyn Matthew (Providence) and German Codina (High Bridge), -two of the best evaluated figures in their sector– along with ex-authorities, they had lashed out at the government, criticizing precisely deficiencies in the vaccination process.
According to the announcement made by the Minsal this Thursday, they will be able to receive this inoculation, As of this Monday, January 16, people from the age of 50, as well as those with severe and profound disabilities (registered in the national disability registry); the Education officials, Gendarmerie personnel, Order and Security Forces, Armed Forces, ONEMI, CONAF and Firefighters, as well as personnel from transport companies, among other groups.
Along with the expansion, the head of Health also announced the relaunch of the inoculation campaign under the name “Get vaccinated today with Bivalente”, which includes both a increase in inoculation points nationwide as of the resources delivered by the ministry to carry out vaccinations in the field.
Aguilera pointed out that the summer will be used so that people can go to the vaccination points and thus be prepared for the upcoming autumn and winter season. “We hope that this offer of this Bivalent vaccine is an opportunity that the population takes. We are going to reinforce our vaccination campaign for this ”, added.
For his part, and in terms of strategies, Undersecretary Square He assured that they will be working with the different ministries – including Education – to deploy a series of actions and advance vaccination in a coordinated manner.
The undersecretary also emphasized that vaccines “They are very safe and effective vaccines.” According to the health authority, a recently published study regarding experience in Israel, with a population over 65 years of age that was inoculated with Bivalente, revealed that in this population the risk of hospitalization due to Covid was reduced by 81% and the risk of dying from coronavirus by 86%.
“We live a pandemic that still does not leave us, we have a situation where the virus changes over time, which implies risks that we may have new shoots over the next few monthsand for which we want our population to be as protected as possible,” he added, recalling that globally, “we continue to have different Ómicron sublineages that are generating an increase in cases, particularly in the northern hemisphere.”
For this reason, and emphasizing that in Chile during 2022 there was a complex situation not only due to Covid-19 but also due to other respiratory viruses, he pointed out that “We are placing so much emphasis on making progress so that we reach the next waves, which we will surely have in autumn-winter, in the most protected way possible”.
- People from the age of 50.
- People with severe and profound disabilities (registered in the national disability registry).
- Caregivers of dependent patients (Preferential Law).
- Population in SENAME closed centers.
- Officials in critical functions in the State.
- Essential personnel for direct attention to citizens and essential functions in basic service companies.
- Order and Security Forces, Armed Forces. and ONEMI, CONAF and Firefighters.
- Kindergarten educators and people who perform functions in nurseries and kindergartens.
- Teachers and directors of preschool, basic and secondary education.
- Gendarmerie personnel and persons deprived of liberty.
- Personnel of transport companies: land, air and sea.
