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BUENOS AIRES – The Argentine government confirmed, on Saturday afternoon, that President Alberto Fernández is with Covid-19 after a counter-endorsement of the result of the rapid test carried out on Friday. The agent received the second dose of the Sputnik V vaccine almost two months ago; Immunization does not always prevent contamination by the coronavirus, but rather the worsening of the condition.
– I have no idea how I got infected, I’m very careful. If they had not vaccinated me, I would be very sick – said the president in an interview with radio AM750. – The doctors told me that the vaccine evidently created a significant amount of antibodies so, at this moment, I am not compared to what a 62-year-old person is. [não vacinada] would face.
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Fernández showed mild symptoms on Friday night, his birthday, as he prepared for dinner after a day at the official residence in Olivos. The presence of antigens for Covid-19 was found in a rapid test and the president entered preventive isolation.
“At the end of the day, after having a fever of 37.3º and a slight headache, I did a quick test in which I tested positive,” said the president on Twitter overnight. “As much as I did not want to end my birthday with this news, I am excited,” he said.
In a note announcing the result of the PCR test yesterday afternoon, Casa Rosada’s doctor, Federico Saavedra, said that the clinical picture “is mild, largely due to the protective effect of the vaccine.” He also stated that he personally evaluated the agent, whose condition is “stable, asymptomatic, with normal parameters.”
– The doctor just came out, he examined me from head to toe, my lungs, saturation. I have no worrisome symptoms, ”Fernández said on the radio. – I’m in the guest house, not even the dogs come to see me.
The Argentine president took two doses of the Sputnik V vaccine, from the Russian laboratory Gamaleya. The first injection was administered on January 21 at the Posadas hospital in Buenos Aires and the second on February 11, according to sources linked to the Presidency.
In the case of Sputnik V, studies from phase 3 clinical trials showed 91.6% effectiveness in preventing Covid-19, according to a peer-reviewed article published in the scientific journal Lancet in February. For severe cases, the protection found was 100%. The study indicates that the vaccine does not give a complete guarantee that a person will not contract the disease. However, immunizers prevent the state of health from evolving to a more serious situation.
“I contacted the people I met with in the last 48 hours to isolate them. I ask everyone to preserve themselves by following the recommendations. It is clear that the pandemic has not passed and we must continue to take care of ourselves, ”Fernández said on Twitter.
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Casa Rosada, the seat of the Argentine government, announced that Carla Vizzoti, Minister of Health, is personally making the list of people who have had contact with the president. The names are, initially, that of Chancellor Felipe Solá; the Secretary of Malvinas, Daniel Filmus; the mayor of Hurlingham, Juan Zabaleta; the Secretary General of the Presidency, Julio Vitobello; and the presidential spokesman, Juan Pablo Biondi. Fabiola Yáñez, Fernández’s wife, had a negative test.
Presidential sources also reported that a meeting between Fernández and Horacio Rodríguez Larreta, head of government in Buenos Aires, was reorganized to be held virtually or by phone. First lady Fabiola Yáñez, 39, reported on social media that she tested negative for the disease.
Argentina faces a second wave of the coronavirus, with a considerable increase in the number of infections driven by the new variants, including the Brazilian P.1. The country has already vaccinated 7.6% of the population with the first dose. In addition to Sputnik, Argentina has an agreement to produce the Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine together with Mexico, but this production is delayed due to lack of supplies.
According to official data from the country of 44 million inhabitants, 2.3 million have already been infected and 56,023 died from the disease.
