Peruvian President Francisco Sagasti will be the first citizen of his country to be inoculated with a COVID-19 vaccine developed by Chinese laboratory Sinopharm, Health Minister Pilar Mazzetti said on Saturday.
This is an important act because it will send a symbolic message to all Peruvians, she said on radio RPP.
“We all agreed that the President of the Republic must be the first person to be vaccinated to demonstrate that, firstly, this vaccine will help us all to stay calm, and that it constitutes a guarantee that we will be better protected”, Ms. Mazzetti said.
Sinopharm’s first batch of vaccines is expected to arrive in Peru on Sunday.
The country is going through the most critical moment of the pandemic, characterized by a second wave of infections that have almost overwhelmed public hospitals, due to high demand for beds and a shortage of oxygen.
Peru has so far recorded a total of 1,165,052 cases of the new coronavirus and 41,753 deaths, according to the Situation Chamber of the Ministry of Health.
