Coronavirus

Chile sends Covid-19 vaccines to Ecuador and Paraguay

President Sebastián Piñera gets a vaccine shot. Photo: Marcelo Segura/Presidencia Chile
President Sebastián Piñera gets a vaccine shot. Photo: Marcelo Segura/Presidencia Chile

President Sebastián Piñera of Chile said that his government sent 20,000 vaccine doses to Ecuador and Paraguay, which have made baby steps in their respective vaccination campaigns. According to Mr. Piñera, this multilateral effort to fight the coronavirus “was thought up during meetings of Prosur,” the new alliance of South American countries led by right-wing leaders.

As of March 9, over 3.6 million people have been vaccinated in Chile per the latest Health Ministry report, roughly 19 percent of the population. That is not the case in Ecuador and Paraguay — where only 0.1 and 0.39 percent of the respective populations have taken at least one vaccine shot. 

In Paraguay, the Health Minister resigned amid a collapse of the public health network, sparking calls for the impeachment of President Mario Abdo Benítez.

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