President of Argentina Alberto Fernández announced Saturday that tested positive for COVID-19.
Note: Fernandez received his first dose of Russian Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine on Jan. 21 and the second on Feb. 11, according to the Wall Street Journal.
- The president’s doctor, Federico Saavedra, said in a statement released to the media: “The clinical picture is mild due in large part to the protective effect of the vaccine received.”
For the record: Argentina became the first joint country in Russia last December to start vaccinating people with the Sputnik V vaccine.
- The review reviewed by a large clinical trial published last February found that the vaccine demonstrated almost 92% efficacy against symptomatic cases of COVID-19.
- Two studies published last month found that fully vaccinated people can still get the virus, although it is quite rare.
By numbers: Argentine health officials have administered single doses of coronavirus vaccine to approximately 7% of the population of 45 million and 1.5% received both vaccines, according to the WSJ.
The big picture: Cases of COVID-19 are on the rise in Argentina, which reported more than 82,100 cases last week, according to Johns Hopkins.
- Last week, the Argentine government suspended flights from Brazil, Mexico and Chile to try to prevent coronavirus variants from entering the country.