Lionel Messi has helped secure 50,000 doses of a Covid vaccine for South American Football Confederation as part of a bold campaign to inoculate players ahead of this summer’s Copa America.
A deal was reached with Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac after Messi donated three signed Barcelona shirts, with the deal brokered by Uruguay president Luis Lacalle Pou, according to The Guardian.
A confederation official, Gonzalo Belloso, revealed the deal on Twitter while posting pictures of Messi’s signed shirts.
Lionel Messi has helped secure 50,000 Covid vaccines for South American football federation
Messi donated three signed shirts to Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac
Belloso tweeted: ‘Sinovac’s directors manifested their admiration for Lionel Messi, who kindly sent us three shirts for them.’
The confederation, Conmebol, are planning to vaccinate as many players from the continent for this summer’s showpiece, which is being held in Colombia and Argentina.
Some of the 50,000 vaccines will be going to Argentina’s first division male sides.
‘The idea is to vaccinate all of Argentina’s first division teams,’ said Bellos. ‘We want all football players to be inoculated before the Copa América because any of them could be called to play.’
Some of the 50,000 doses of the Chinese vaccine will be given to Argentinian football players
The Guardian are also reporting that the Argentinian government will first need to approve China’s Conovac vaccine, which is made by Sinovac, first before the doses are administered.
However, concerns have been expressed about the efficacy of Chinese vaccines, which have been used in 53 countries, many of them developing nations in South America, Africa and South East Asia.
The fact they are cheap and easy to store has made them ideal for countries which do not have the special equipment to keep other jabs at ultra-cold temperatures.
But some studies have suggested that one dose of the CoronaVac vaccine is only three per cent effective, and two doses provide protection from the virus in only around half of cases.
Even China’s top health official has conceded the efficacy of its vaccines is not ideal, in a rare public admission. Gao Fu, director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention admitted ‘protection rates of existing vaccines are not high’.
South America has suffered a surge in Covid cases, which has been attributed to the spread of the Brazil variant that is thought to be more than twice as transmissible as the original virus.
There has been criticism in South America of putting footballers ahead of the general population, which is suffering from the rapid spread of the virus.
Uruguay currently has the highest number of new daily Covid cases worldwide, 1,084 per million inhabitants, compared to the UK’s 25 per million.
Vaccines are also scarce in countries like Uruguay and Argentina, which has prompted Conmebol to take action ahead of this summer’s tournament.
‘Just as the president manifested cooperation with Conmebol to vaccinate for the Copa America, he could just as well have the same consideration for Canelones,’ the mayor of the Uruguayan city of Canelones, Yamandu Orsi, said.
The Argentinian government is also considering a strong lockdown in order to halt the spread of coronavirus while the country waits on the next influx of vaccines, which last arrived on April 4.
It is part of a bold plan by the Conmebol to inoculate footballers for this summer Copa America
Conmebol officials have also approached Argentinian government officials to grant special exemption for football players to receive the vaccine, The Guardian are reporting.
The Copa America, which was pushed back a year due to outbreak of the coronavirus, will take place in Colombia and Argentina, from June 13 to July 10.
It is due to take place in nine venues in nine cities, including the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires.
Ten teams will compete for the title, which is currently held by Brazil.