SANTIAGO, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- Chile began vaccinating healthcare workers with a second booster dose against COVID-19 on Thursday, in light of a surge of infections caused by the Omicron variant, which reached a record 12,500 daily cases in the last 24 hours, according to the Ministry of Health.
The ministry started the first stage of administering a second booster dose to immunocompromised people this month, originally scheduled for February, amid the increase in cases, and also decided to advance the shots for healthcare workers.
The ministry called on the public to get vaccinated according to the official schedule, as 1.5 million people have yet to receive their first booster dose, which allows people with access to a mobility pass with greater freedoms.
Chile has been widely recognized for its free, voluntary and mass immunization campaign, which allowed the country to enjoy a sounder epidemiological situation for months. ■
