Chile begins to vaccinate healthy adults against COVID-19

SANTIAGO - Chile's vaccination drive against COVID-19 on Wednesday reached the population of healthy adults after nearly 6 million people in high-risk groups had been first immunized, the government said.

"Today we begin a very important milestone, which is the start of vaccination for the healthy population," Chile's Deputy Health Minister Paula Daza said at a vaccination center at Nunoa, a community in the capital Santiago and metropolitan area.

The healthy population refers to people under 60 years of age with no underlying medical conditions.

According to the Ministry of Health, 5,948,696 people have been vaccinated, mainly healthcare workers, the elderly and those with chronic ailments. Of those, 3,105,216 have gotten both doses.

Chile is among the countries that have applied the most vaccines against COVID-19 per 100 inhabitants.

Some 947,783 people in Chile have tested positive for COVID-19 and 22,402 people have died from the disease.