After initially enduring criticism over its handling of restrictions, Chile moved to secure vaccines from a range of suppliers
Chile has administered more than 3.1m vaccine doses in just three weeks to emerge as a global leader in Covid-19 inoculations, trailing only the US, UK, UAE and Israel in vaccination doses per 100 people.
Having initially endured heavy criticism over its handling of pandemic restrictions, Chile has moved quickly to secure vaccines from a range of suppliers and aims to have 80% of its population immunised against the virus by June. It has already vaccinated 16% of its 19 million citizens at hospitals, schools, stadia and municipal buildings throughout the country.
"Chile can be proud of its inoculation process," said the health minister, Enrique Paris, who assumed the role in June 2020 after his predecessor resigned amid a surging caseload. "To get to this point, we began work in May last year to guarantee that a sufficient quantity of safe and effective vaccines would be available to all Chileans."