Chile begins first COVID-19 vaccination campaign in South America as Pfizer doses arrive
Santiago: Chile, the first country in South America to begin vaccinating against COVID-19, started innoculations on Thursday after receiving its initial 10,000 doses from Pfizer-BioNtech.
Specialist nurse Zulema Riquelme, 46, a 26-year veteran at the public hospital in a poor area of the capital, was the first Chilean to receive the vaccine.
She urged others to follow her lead, although a poll by local firm Cadem found only 36% were willing to receive the shot immediately and 22% said they would never want it.
"I understand that people are suspicious because it is something new, but you have to have faith and trust," she said.
Mexico received 3,000 doses of the vaccine on Wednesday; Costa Rica was to receive Pfizer doses on Thursday while Argentina was expecting the first doses of Russia's Sputnik COVID-19 vaccine on the same day.
Chile's doses arrived at Santiago airport from Pfizer's manufacturing hub in Belgium, just before 7 a.m. local time (1000 GMT) on Christmas Eve, according to the presidency.
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