Long lines at Caracas' COVID vaccination centers

Hundreds of people queued in the streets of Caracas on Monday, under a glaring sun to get a chance to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. Lines formed after the government called for a "massive vaccination," a second phase of the immunization campaign which included people over 60 years of age, after prioritizing health workers during the last months. Still, younger people outside the targeted groups went to the health centers expecting to get a vaccine expanding the already long lines. 

Authorities let many get the vaccines without a previous registry. Previously, on Saturday, President Nicolás said Venezuela had already paid the COVAX mechanism to access the pool of vaccines. COVAX, a United Nations initiative to facilitate equitable access to immunization, would provide a total of 11 million doses to Venezuela, 20 percent of what the country needs. Venezuelan authorities have only reported 1,870 deaths and more than 230,000 COVID-19 positive cases.