Chile rolls out 2nd phase of COVID vaccine campaign

Chile rolled out a new phase of its vaccination plan Thursday, with health workers getting a second dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.

According to Chilean health authorities, 10,706 people have received their first dose so far, half of them from the Metropolitan Region around the capital Santiago.

More than 2,500 people have already been given their second dose.

A third shipment of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines arrived in Chile on Wednesday in the country, amounting to 88,725 doses.

After healthcare workers, the country's elderly and nursing home workers are next in line to be vaccinated.

Coronavirus cases rose by more than a third in Chile over the last week.

Chile has reported more than 656,000 confirmed coronavirus cases in total, and 17,294 deaths.