Venezuela To Vaccinate 90% Of Its Population To Face Omicron

On Wednesday, Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro announced that the first seven COVID-19 cases caused by the Omicron variant were detected in citizens who traveled abroad and recently returned to the states of Miranda, Lara and Caracas.

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"It was inevitable that Omicron would arrive in Venezuela. Therefore, we reiterate the call to reinforce biosecurity measures and vaccination. We continue working to care for the people without rest," he said.

"Omigron arrived in Colombia a week ago and in Brazil two weeks ago ... It is already the dominant variable in Europe and responsible for 70 percent of the cases in the United States," he recalled during the delivery of the 2021 Science, Technology, and Innovation Awards.

Two of Omicron patients came from Panama. The first of them is a 20-year-old man who lives in Guatire (Miranda state) and arrived in Venezuela on Dec. 13. The other case corresponds to a 32-year-old woman from Barquisimeto (Lara state) who entered Venezuela on Dec. 21.

"We are prepared to face the arrival of Omicron," Maduro said, recalling that Venezuela only registers 10 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 inhabitants thanks to its epidemiological prevention and management system.

The Bolivarian leader also announced that the booster vaccination with a third dose will begin on January 3 and will use the Russian, Cuban, and Chinese vaccines. Given that Venezuela already has 87 percent of its population vaccinated and the Bolivarian government aspires to cover 90 percent of the population until Dec. 31.

To speed up the provision of the booster dose, Health authorities will activate a messaging system through which citizens will obtain information about their care appointments.