Galapagos Islands population and mainland Ecuador tourism workers 12 years and older 95 percent vaccinated with Biontech/Pfizer
Quito/Frankfurt, August 9th, 2021. Vaccination of the Ecuadorian population is progressing in leaps and bounds. As of today, nearly 13 million vaccine doses from manufacturers Biontech/Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Sinovac have been administered, including 9.3 million first vaccinations and nearly three million second vaccinations. With 17.8 million Ecuadorians, this means that 52 percent of the total population and 70 percent of people over 16 years of age have received at least their first vaccination. Priority occupational groups, including travel industry workers (95 percent) – are almost fully second-vaccinated. President Guillermo Lasso thanked the United States, Spain and China for their support. An electronic vaccination certificate has been available online since last week.
Last week, the government presented the way forward for the coming months in a plan called “Fénix,” which is based on ten pillars and implemented by the military with more than 3,000 soldiers. The deployment of the soldiers is important for this second phase, as they want to reach the very remote areas of the country. US$628 million will be used to fight the pandemic. President Lasso sees his government, which has only been in office for 70 days, as halfway to its goal (source: El Comercio, 9.8.2021).
In the Galapagos Islands, the vaccination of children twelve years and older began in July. The process will be completed by mid-August. Ecuador’s population is comparatively young-30 percent are younger than 15.
Ecuador is no longer a risk area for many countries
The USA, Switzerland, Austria and most other European countries have not classified Ecuador as a risk area for some time. New infections have been below 50/100,000 for months. “Ecuador has so far managed very successfully to live with the virus and protect its population through strict hygiene protocols. I travelled to the country in July 2021 and again marvelled at its safety. The vaccination campaign is showing good results on the mainland,” explains Beate Zwermann, Executive Director of Galapagos PRO.
Information on Galapagos PRO:
The special tour operator Galapagos PRO has made the island archipelago in the Pacific and Ecuador bookable online. Over 270 different itineraries, 58 ships (including eight diving ships) on the Galapagos Islands can be booked individually. Also in the program are Amazon rainforest lodges, rental car and bus tours on the Ecuadorian mainland, as well as flight bookings, last-minute cruises and combination trips with Peru and Chile. Further information on Galapagos PRO and reservation possibilities find you here: www.galapagos-pro.com.
Partner: Charles Darwin Foundation – www.darwinfoundation.org/en/