Chile in 'critical' grip of second Covid wave despite one of best vaccination rates

[peppertree]

A massive second wave of the coronavirus is gripping Chile, despite a much-lauded vaccination program that is the best in Latin America and one of the top worldwide.

Millions of Chileans are returning to full lockdown Thursday after health authorities this week ordered a return to Phase One restrictions.

The renewed order means 70% of Chile’s 19 million people will be confined to home under tighter measures, such as the removal of permits to visit supermarkets on weekends.

On Saturday, Chile recorded its highest number of daily cases since the beginning of the pandemic, 7,084 new Covid-19 cases, breaking the single-day record of 6,938 reported in June.

The second wave is edging the country's health care system perilously close to the breaking point. Critical bed occupancy is at 95%, and many medical staff members embroiled in Covid-19-infected wards for a year — sometimes working on complex cases beyond their expertise levels — have taken medical leave because of exhaustion and stress.

At: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/chile-critical-grip-second-covid-wave-one-best-vaccination-rates-rcna505

Chileans enjoy warm Southern Hemisphere summer weather in Santiago yesterday.

Despite one of the highest per capita vaccination rates in the world, Chile's daily Covid-19 infection rate is currently around twice the rate in neighboring Argentina or the U.S. on a per capita basis.

The trend has forced President Sebastián Piñera to impose lockdown measures covering 70% of the nation's 19 million people - including the entire Santiago metro area (7 million).

[bahboo]

1. yep..let's see what our numbers are in 2 to 4 weeks...

[peppertree]

2. Part of the problem in Chile, is that they've been buying millions of vaccines meant for discard

Having one of the highest rates of per capita vaccination has become a matter of political pride for Piñera - but journalists (as well as many others) smelled something fishy.

And sure enough.

A lot of what they have is AstraZeneca vaccines that the U.K.'s Boris reserved for him - as they see Chile (and Piñera in particular) as something of a satellite state.

But the Astra Zeneca doses Chile got (already with low efficacy rates), were ones that they couldn't distribute domestically.

And now they have a one of the world's highest contagion rates - despite vaccinations rates that, officially, are higher even than the U.S.'s.

[bahboo]

3. ah...thx for the clarification...

something does indeed smell very fishy...

[peppertree]

4. You're welcome, Bahboo.

Piñera has a long history of con jobs - starting with the Bank of Talca heist in 1982, amid S&L-style sweetheart loans to friends and family that were never repaid.

This was the second-largest bank failure in Chile up to that point.

[Alice Kramden]

5. OMG

That is diabolical - Boris SELLS worthless vaccines and the population of Chile suffers -

[peppertree]

6. UK Tories (and some in the GOP) have long used Chile as a "model"

Both as a means of promoting Thatcherite policy (which the country adopted under Pinochet, and still largely maintains) - and as a political cudgel against neighboring countries, particularly Argentina.

"See? Chile does everything right - and you don't."

It was a matter of time until that policy led to gross mistakes.

[Alice Kramden]

7. And COVID is a convenient excuse

To further repress the people

[peppertree]

8. Reminds me of Trump, mulling the postponing, even canceling, the elections due to Covid

Remember that one?

To be fair to Piñera, I doubt he'd dare try anything that brazen (he can't run for re-election; but his party is expected to be trounced in this November's elections).

But Trump? He probably would've if he could've, as you know. Heck, he even tried it.

[Alice Kramden]

9. Exactly

Those miscreants are still all about gaming the system