Just 10 Percent Of Venezuelans Are Vaccinated

CARACAS, Venezuela, Fri. Sept 3, 2021 (Reuters) – At least 3.3 million Venezuelans, or just over 10% of the population, have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, according to a survey by a group of doctors linked to the South American nation’s universities.

The survey showed that 25.3% had received one dose and 10.6% had received both. Applying those results proportionally to the entire population, he concluded that 6.4 million people, or 22% of the population has received one shot and 3.3 million, or 11%, has received both.

The data is similar to vaccinations rates tracked by Our World in Data https://ourworldindata.org/covid-vaccinations, which shows 21% receiving at least a first dose and 12% fully vaccinated.

The country’s information ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The number of new COVID cases is rising again in Venezuela, with over 1,100 new cases https://graphics.reuters.com/world-coronavirus-tracker-and-maps/countries-and-territories/venezuela reported on average each day, the highest since early April, according to a Reuters tally.

The government of Venezuela, with some 28.7 million inhabitants, has only sporadically released data and has never provided detailed figures about vaccinations by age, gender or location. It says it expects by October to inoculate 70% of the population, or 22 million people.

Since May, the government of President Nicolas Maduro has been administering the Russian Sputnik V and Chinese Sinopharm vaccines to combat the pandemic.

“(The survey) is part of an initiative of the academic sector … because we have not had regular figures,” said Dr. Julio Castro, an infectious disease expert, at a press conference.

The researchers contacted 2,436 people between Aug. 23-27 in 290 of the country’s 335 municipalities, said Castro. The sample has a 2.03% margin of error, he added.

(Reporting by Vivian Sequera; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)