Chili’s red-hot inoculation rhythm reaches the frozen continent of Antarctica

SANTIAGO (Reuters) – Chile’s lightning-fast vaccination program has reached the icy coasts of Antarctica, officials and researchers told Reuters on Wednesday, bringing a sense of relief to one of the most isolated and vulnerable outposts on Earth.

The pandemic hit Antarctica in December, making it the last continent in the world to report a COVID-19 outbreak. Chilean health and military officials rushed to remove personnel from a remote region with limited medical supplies.

Marcela Andrade, an official at the Chilean Antarctic Institute (INACH), told Reuters by phone that Air Force personnel, followed by personnel from the research base Profesor Julio Escudero, had been vaccinated with a vaccine from China’s Sinovac Biotech Ltd.

She said the outbreak several months ago was well managed, but a reminder of the importance of prompt vaccination in such a remote and unforgiving location.

“It’s a relief,” said Andrade, who said workers in the isolated region were at particular risk. ‘We don’t have flights or ships leaving here every day. It is complicated to transport people who (are sick) or pose a risk to others. “

The base is located on remote King George Island, the largest of the Shetland Islands off the coast of Antarctica. Researchers count several species of seals, penguins and fish-eating seabirds as their closest neighbors.

Chile has anticipated much of Latin America and the world in its vaccination program and has vaccinated most of its primary care health workers, military and elderly. But a spike in infections across the country has left hospitals near collapse and imposing new movement restrictions. (Image: tmsnrt.rs/34pvUyi)

Andrade said Chile’s decision to vaccinate workers in Antarctica was highly appreciated and timely. She said a shift would leave for the mainland in mid-April and they would breathe easier with the vaccine in place.

“Looking at the situation in the country and the world, it is a total relief to return to the mainland with a little protection,” she said.