First AstraZeneca COVID vaccines arrive in Chile

Chile received its first shipment of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines on Friday at a critical moment in the country's fight against the pandemic. The 160,000 doses in the shipment came through the COVAX initiative, a UN-led effort for countries to pool resources in order to obtain vaccines.

The Chilean national health authority has recommended the AstraZeneca shot not be given to women under the age of 55 due to reports of a link to extremely rare blood clots.

Chile has so far fully immunized 7.9 million people against COVID-19, which represents over 31% of its population, far more than any other nation in Latin America.

Despite the success of its vaccination rollout, the country's health system remains under strain from high rates of coronavirus infections.

Daily case rates have slowly fallen from a peak in early April. Chile has reported more than 1.15 million coronavirus cases, including more than 25,000 deaths linked to COVID-19, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

Image: AP