The Diplomat in Spain

The Diplomat

Argentina received yesterday a new batch of 842,400 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines donated by Spain through the COVAX mechanism, the global initiative for equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines, according to the Government of Alberto Fernandez.

In a statement, the Argentine government recalled that Spain initiated, last August, the donation of 7.5 million vaccines to Latin American and Caribbean countries through the COVAX mechanism and that on August 22 a batch of 400,000 AstraZeneca vaccines donated by the Spanish government arrived in Argentina.

The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, assured this week before the UN General Assembly in New York that Spain has already fulfilled its commitment to allocate 7.5 million vaccines to Latin America and the Caribbean through COVAX and announced its intention to add another 7.5 million this year, bringing to 15 million the number of doses destined for the region.

“We thank Pedro Sánchez and the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs for their commitment to equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines“, the Argentine Foreign Ministry stated yesterday via its Twitter account. “This new batch is in addition to the donation of 400,000 doses that the Spanish government sent in August, and allow our country to reach in total more than 64 million vaccines on Argentine soil,” it added. The new batch of AstraZeneca vaccines arrived yesterday at Ezeiza International Airport on a Lufthansa flight.

According to official data, the Argentine authorities have supplied more than 50 million doses to its population within the framework of the strategic immunization plan carried out by the national government since the beginning of the pandemic. With a population of 45 million inhabitants, 29.2 million Argentines (64.8%) have received the first dose and almost 21 million (46.4%) have already received the full regimen.

So far, vaccination has reached those over 18 years of age, but from October onwards it will be extended to adolescents from the age of 12. Thanks to these vaccinations, Argentina has experienced a clear decrease in the number of infections, which has resulted in a relaxation of sanitary measures and a gradual reopening of borders. The use of face masks in open spaces will no longer be mandatory as of October 1. According to the latest count, Argentina has had 5.2 million cases and almost 115,000 deaths from COVID-19 since the pandemic began.