Guido Carelli Lynch
03/21/2021 4:47 PM
Clarín.com
Politics
Updated 03/21/2021 4:47 PM
The
president's
surprise
national network
on Thursday night raised questions about the stock of vaccines.
Alberto Fernández's
unspoken message
was perhaps more powerful than the words he spoke during the 12 minutes that the transmission lasted: with the proven
global shortage of vaccines, care
must be deepened or, as in Europe and the region,
internal
restrictions will return
, in addition to the external ones, which the Executive finalizes.
The President told the governors of the North that more vaccines would arrive in the coming days.
Aerolineas Argentinas confirmed the
eighth trip
in search of a new batch of Sputnik V. In addition, the Executive hopes that the logistical and bureaucratic problems that delayed the
shipment of 3 million
doses of the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine are resolved and that its use is authorized for over 60.
Meanwhile, in the Casa Rosada they are enthusiastic about the polls around the vaccination campaign despite the shock caused by the revelation of the
VIP vaccines
that resulted in the resignation of the Minister of Health
Ginés González García
.
Perhaps one thing explains the other: as confidence in vaccines increased - which the opposition initially questioned - people reacted negatively and widely when the scandal emerged.
Fernández also seems to cling to
the health plan as a lifeline in the election year
, while the economy does not show many signs to be hopeful.
The
image of the head of state
, at the beginning of the pandemic, experienced an
unprecedented rise
that
was diluted
over the months, the economic, health and polarization situation.
In the Government, they consider that health management is the main asset of the President and, perhaps, the best channel to attract
independent voters and from the center
, decisive in any election.
With this approach, the President repeats visits to vaccinations: last week he visited one in Greater Buenos Aires, on Friday another in Catamarca.
"The vaccine is hope"
, summary in the Government.
And transmitting hope is the aspiration of every politician and candidate.
Another visit to a vaccination center in Catamarca.
Together with the local governor Raúl Jalil.
Photo: Presidency
In the surveys that the most important officials of the Executive consume, one piece of information stood out:
the procurement of vaccines
is the policy best considered by citizens, but that detail did not exclude it from the crack.
It was accommodated according to political identities.
"Not even the vaccine was saved from a
useless ideologization
," they reflected in official dispatches.
Between November and January, among those surveyed who recognized themselves as opponents, the rejection of the vaccine - by Sputnik V - was the majority, always according to polls contracted by the Government.
Only 40% of opposition voters trusted her while 80% of supporters of the Frente de Todos believed in the Russian vaccine.
At that time, the final reports from the Gamaleya Institute, which manufactures vaccines, were missing, and high-ranking opponents such as
Elisa Carrió
denounced
the President
for “poisoning
”.
The arrival of the first batches, the legitimation of Sputnik V in the prestigious scientific journal
The Lancet
and its high efficacy modified this initial disbelief.
According to the polls they receive in the Government,
8 out of 10 Argentines want to be vaccinated
.
The same opinion studies show that
only 17%
believe that it is "
unlikely or not at all likely
" to be vaccinated.
That universe, according to the Government, is in sharp decline even among the hard core of opposition voters.
Today almost
7 out of every 10 opposition voters
surveyed admit that they hope to be vaccinated.
“That is trust.
And this trust goes beyond political identities.
The people seem more sensible than a part of the leadership and the most intransigent journalists ”, they are enthusiastic about the Government without ceasing to aim at their favorite target:
opponents and the media.
"We all know a person who has already received at least one dose," said the President, who usually studies polls, during the national network.
Opinion surveys indicate more precisely that
45% of the population
knows someone who has been vaccinated.
With the same guidelines,
Santiago Cafiero
published before the national network a tweet about the vaccination campaign in which he alluded to former president
Mauricio Macri
, who that day had presented his book.
“While some are already campaigning for elections, we continue to vaccinate.
That is the only major campaign, "wrote the Chief of Staff.
The President was much tougher during the act at the former Esma this Saturday.
"They want vaccines for those who have money," said the president about the plan of leaders of Together for Change so that private medicine companies can buy vaccines.
The growing confidence in vaccines against the coronavirus - as recognized by the Government - is not only explained by the alleged construction of credibility to which they allude: "
Argentine
society
is by far the
most pro-vaccines
in Latin America."
Agreements for 65 million vaccines and geopolitics
With the certainty that the provision of vaccines is the main demand of society, the Government emphasizes that contracts have already been signed to ensure
65 million vaccines.
And they assure that Minister
Carla Vizzotti
and
Cecilia Nicolini
have the order to
negotiate with all
available
laboratories
.
"Very few countries - with the exception of the powers - signed commitments to have more doses than necessary for their population," they say in the Executive.
The reverse is so far only
3.8 million doses
have been distributed
, much less than what Alberto Fernández had promised for this time of year.
Even with delays, they trust the Government to receive as soon as possible - in early May, perhaps -
the batch of 2 million Astrazeneca vaccines
.
And they add that global scarcity and the gathering of powers is a reality that all countries must deal with.
However, they oppose the situation of countries like Japan.
“He signed contracts for 380 million doses and only received 1,362,000.
And
there is no Peronism
”, they ironize.
Comparisons with other first world countries do not end there.
They remember that
Germany
has not yet signed a contract with Russia to buy Sputnik V. And they give a geopolitical explanation to the most uncomfortable data: they justify that
Chile was able to get 14 million vaccines from Sinovac
because China is the main commercial partner of the trans-Andean country.