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Corona wave in Chile: “Last year people were afraid of dying”

When it comes to vaccinations, Chile is one step ahead worldwide. Nevertheless, the number of infections has risen to a new record level for two weeks. How does that fit together?

For a long time, Chile was considered a model student in Latin America in the fight against the pandemic. Hardly any other country in the world has made such rapid progress with vaccinations. Thanks to tough measures, Chile got the first corona wave behind it comparatively lightly. But now the strategy of the flagship nation is slowly but surely beginning to crumble.

Despite the successful vaccination campaign, Chile is struggling with infection rates that are higher than they have been for a year. After the seven-day incidence flattened somewhat in May, it has been back at a record level of around 260 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants for two weeks.

Increasing infections despite a high vaccination rate

The metropolitan region of Santiago de Chile, where almost half of the population lives, has been particularly hard hit. Since last weekend there has been a hard lockdown again: Only those who work in systemically relevant professions are allowed to leave the house. Going for a walk or doing sports is only allowed in the morning hours with people from the same household. You can go shopping for two hours twice a week. Chile’s President Sebastian Piñera appealed to the people to abide by the rules and promised that the new lockdown could then perhaps be lowered again in two weeks.

The hospitals are now reaching their limits. The intensive care units are 98 percent full, said the President of the Chilean National Nursing Association of Nursing Associations (FENASENF), Jose Luis Espinoza. There are fewer than 150 intensive care beds available throughout the country – the highest occupancy in Chile’s history. The nurses are “on the verge of collapse”.

Chile is considered the vaccination champion in Latin America. Around three quarters of the almost 20 million inhabitants have received at least one vaccination dose. More than half – 58 percent – are already fully vaccinated. This means that the country has almost reached its goal of vaccinating at least 75 percent of the population. Three quarters are considered sufficient to ensure herd immunity.

Gamma variant makes life difficult for Chile

There are several reasons for the dramatic development in Chile. Paradoxically, one thing is related to the vaccination campaign itself – to be more precise, to the vaccine: In Chile, more than three quarters of the Chinese vaccine Sinovac was injected. In contrast to mRNA vaccines from Biontech and Moderna, the so-called dead vaccine can be produced in large quantities relatively quickly.

However, the studies on the effectiveness of Sinovac came to very different results: In Chile, the inactivated vaccine only protected about 63 percent of people from symptomatic diseases and severe disease, in Brazil only 50 percent. It is true that the mortality rate in Chile is leveling off at a slightly lower level, which indicates that Sinovac is at least softening the course.

The effectiveness against general infection and thus also against spread is also rated as low. In view of the rapidly spreading, more contagious virus mutants, this could now be doomed. The Brazilian variant P.1 is now the front runner among new infections in Chile. The mutation named “Gamma” by the WHO is considered twice as contagious as the virus of origin and is another reason for the increasing numbers.

“Last year people were afraid to die”

The behavior of the population and the economic situation also play a decisive role. After months of back and forth between hard and mild conditions, a lockdown fatigue has spread across the country. At the same time, the high vaccination rate gives Chileans a false sense of security. “Last year containment measures were more effective because people were afraid of dying,” confirms Dr. Cesar Cortes, emergency doctor at the university hospital in the capital, the news agency “”. “It is no longer the case.” Now many would be more afraid of losing their jobs.

Lidia Amarales, health expert at the Universidad de Magallanes in Punta Arenas, agrees. The economic pressure caused many people to leave the house against the instructions, explains the researcher of the Chilean newspaper “”. In addition, not nearly as many Chileans have the opportunity to work from home as, for example, in Europe. Therefore, we offer further help for small and medium-sized companies that are in distress due to the lockdown.

The turn of the year also comes at an inopportune time for Chile: Winter is just beginning in South America – temperatures are falling and people prefer to meet at home than outside. Just like last year when the country experienced its first major corona wave.

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