Chile leads the ranking of Latin American countries with the largest portion of the population fully immunized (83.7%) against Covid and is also ahead in the application of the third dose (which has already reached 42.1% of Chileans). In a term in which the president has 20% approval and ends his term eroded by accusations of corruption and protests, the vaccination campaign is Sebastián Piñera’s most praised legacy.
The country still lives with restrictions: foreigners cannot enter without an immunization scheme validated by the health authorities, masks are mandatory in the streets and access to restaurants and bars is only authorized with the Mobility Pass.
After two serious waves of the pandemic (so far there are more than 38 thousand dead), Chileans are trying to breathe a little easier. The apprehension is now over how to keep pace with vaccinations with the arrival of a new president in 2022 — on December 19, ultra-right José Antonio Kast and leftist Gabriel Boric compete in the second round.
“We don’t know what each one’s strategies will be, but we are leaving open the doors of all the laboratories with which we have been negotiating in recent months”, says Rodrigo Yáñez, 42, undersecretary for International Economic Relations and responsible for the Piñera administration for the purchase of vaccines .
In an interview with sheet, in Santiago, he says that Chile already has booster doses for the entire population and that agreements for a fourth injection, in the first half of 2022, are already closed. “I hope I can start the transition as quickly as possible. A change of government cannot mean stopping the pace.”
Do you believe that the fact that Chile has a liberal tradition and maintains international treaties with dozens of countries helped to streamline the purchase of vaccines? Yes, there is a virtuous circle when this is the economic model. Thirty years of commercial opening generated networks and dynamics that facilitated this process of confronting the pandemic. Without a market, there is no vaccine, and the market is not designed only to benefit large companies. We bet on this and managed to be the country with the best vaccination performance in the region without having to manufacture even a dose.
These characteristics of Chile made it easier not only to import vaccines, but also for medical equipment and whatever was needed to arrive quickly, without delays in customs. We act with pragmatism. Why should we close ourselves off to a vaccine for reasons other than health, its safety and its efficacy?
And there was no resistance or criticism from the opposition regarding certain vaccines, as occurred in others countries? There were occasional cases, but they weren’t really worrying. We decided early on that we would not politicize decisions related to the pandemic. So there was no vaccine out of play for us, whether Russian, Chinese or American.
The Chilean government made the decision to buy vaccines very early. What was the risk assessment like? It was complex to negotiate with as many uncertainties as there were at the time. President Sebastián Piñera, who is very controlling, put a lot of pressure on teams from different ministries to make the procurement of vaccines quick. He said that the vaccine would be something scarce and that it was necessary to have several options.
There were doubts in the beginning regarding messenger RNA vaccines, but while this discussion was taking place, we did not stop negotiating with Pfizer while guaranteeing Sinovac, of a better known technique. It was essential for us to continue vaccinating even when there were problems with Pfizer’s stock arrivals. We don’t need to interrupt the process at any time.
In the case of Sinovac, your contract did not involve the Butantan Institute [que a produz no Brasil, sob o nome Coronavac]. But was there a dialogue? Our contract with Sinovac is independent, we receive the vaccine ready-made from China. But, yes, there was an exchange of information, even though Butantan made mistakes in the way it communicated the effectiveness of the vaccine — which in Brazil took place in the context of the political game that shook confidence in the immunizing agent. It is regrettable that Sinovac was caught in the crossfire because of João Doria’s confrontation [governador de São Paulo] and Jair Bolsonaro [presidente].
In Argentina and Brazil there was a delay in contracting Pfizer’s immunization agents. Among other things, because Alberto Fernández said that the proposed contract “would hurt the country’s sovereignty” and because Bolsonaro claimed that there were no guarantees about the vaccine’s safety, the famous phrase about “turning alligator”. Why did this type of questioning not take place in Chile? There was a lot of fantasies about the conditions that Pfizer asked for. It is true that this is a leonine contract as far as disclaimer is concerned, but it was either that or nothing. It is not strange for Chile to deal with this type of contract, as this already occurs in the day-to-day of business.
In the case of Argentina, the refusal to Pfizer was made even more serious by the fact that the country had bet so many chips only on Sputnik. It is a good vaccine, but the Russian laboratory had difficulties to carry out the supply as agreed.
Chile already has 42.1% of those vaccinated with the third dose. Are there plans for the fourth? Is there no resistance in the population to continue vaccinating? We already have the doses necessary to finish the vaccination with the third dose and, for the start of the fourth dose, in the first half of next year, contracts have already been negotiated. What will depend on the next government are negotiations for the second semester, when there will be more people to receive the fourth dose, because we started with the elderly.
We are apprehensive about the transition to the new government, because these things are negotiated in advance and it is already necessary to start talking about the importation of vaccines for the second half of 2022.
Regarding trust in vaccination, we have a tradition of respect for the health authority. So much so that Piñera’s popularity is low, but not that of health or vaccination authorities. There are about 10% of the population more resistant, but we have been trying to make a campaign to convince, showing that it is thanks to vaccination that the new wave is not so serious. Another argument is that the economy hasn’t stopped, and everything indicates that it won’t be necessary to take measures as restrictive as before —the three-dose vaccination has kept serious cases in a reduced number.
There is also the example from abroad, in European countries or the USA, regions where there are new waves and serious cases among the unvaccinated population. We hope that we can convince those who have doubts that vaccination is being positive from a health and economic point of view.
Kast and Gabriel Boric are not virus deniers nor have they spoken out against vaccination. Does that mean it matters less who the next president will be? My job, which ends in March, is to leave as many doors open as possible, even with vaccines that we end up not working with much, like Sputnik. The new president will be able to make his choices, but an organized transition process is needed and guidelines are quickly established. There are examples of countries that have gone through poorly organized government transitions that have affected the pace of vaccination.
We have also already started talking to laboratories that are producing the antivirals, and it is necessary to get ahead of the conversations as soon as possible.
Do you believe that regional integration projects left something to be desired in the pandemic? No doubt. It was one of the lessons of the pandemic, each country closed in on itself, the blocks were slow and insufficient. Neither Celac nor the Pacific Alliance nor Mercosur were able to articulate efficient plans. This is a debate that needs to take place.
Even the Covax engine [ligado à OMS] did not offer good solutions for those who only trusted him. We use and receive immunizations from AstraZeneca, but we would have been out of hand if we only depended on Covax. Paraguay made this bet and paid the price. Covax complies, but with very long deadlines, which can put the pace of vaccination at risk. It should be a support only.
What do you think of the debate about breaking patents? It is a discussion that has to take place, but with realism, without giving false hope. The idea is more complex than it sounds, because the value chain of a vaccine goes through several countries, sometimes 15, from syringes to caps and the technology to transport it.
A paper that indicates the breaking of the patent is not enough. We can’t fool people by saying that only breaking patents has the solution, we need to be responsible.
X-ray | Rodrigo Yáñez, 42
Lawyer, since 2018 he has been general director of International Economic Relations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Chile. In addition to commanding the purchase of vaccines, he is responsible for defining the country’s participation in forums such as the Pacific Alliance. He was also an international advisor on regulatory issues for the government of Sebastián Piñera between 2010 and 2014.
.
