The emergency approval of a COVID-19 vaccine developed by Chinese firm Sinovac Biotech will boost Chile's mass vaccination campaign, Health Minister Enrique Paris said Wednesday.
"This is very important news ... millions of doses of this vaccine will allow us to vaccinate many people to try to control the virus," Paris said at a press conference held at government headquarters.
Sinovac's CoronaVac vaccine is to arrive at the end of the month, he said, adding there will be "as many vaccines as possible in the first shipment."
Meanwhile, Paris urged those vaccinated to continue to abide by social distancing measures.
Chile's Minister of Science, Technology, Knowledge and Innovation Andres Couve, who accompanied Paris, said "CoronaVac is a vaccine that prevents serious clinical conditions that require medical assistance and hospitalizations, which is very encouraging."
