MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Uruguayan President vows that should a 3rd dose be necessary it will be with the Pfizer vaccine

”We never agreed with the mandatory nature of vaccine,” Lacalle said

Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou Thursday said the potential need for a third dose of an anticovid-19 vaccine was still under study but should the experts find it necessary it would be with the one produced by Pfizer.

Lacalle made those statements in the city of Melo, where he attended the opening of the country's first SME Center.

“What I can tell you calmly is that Uruguay is planning to buy vaccines. Not only in case a third dose needs to be given, but in case of next year a booster must be applied,” Lacalle explained.

“I believe that with the negotiations that the government has carried out until today and those that are in process, we will have enough vaccines in case we have to take that step forward,” he added.

Lacalle also said he opposed compulsory vaccination. “We never agreed with the mandatory nature of vaccines. Fortunately, as many of us thought, we were optimistic and the vast majority of Uruguayans have gone to be vaccinated.”

Nevertheless, Lacalle's approval ratings have fallen 5%, according to a report by the Equipos consultancy firm released Wednesday. Despite his drop in popularity, the majority of Uruguayans continue to approve of his performance at the helm of the country, the study showed.

The survey, carried out between June 23 and July 2, revealed that most Uruguayans continued to approve of Lacalle's management of the country, although the figures were slightly below previous reports. At the end of June, 55% of those interviewed approved of the president's management, 16% have intermediate opinions, 28% disapprove, and 1% have no opinion. With these data, Lacalle Pou still holds a positive net balance (subtraction of approval and disapproval) of +27.

But it represented a downward variation of 5 points compared to May's measurement: approval fell from 60% to 55%, and disapproval increased from 24% to 28%, which means the net balance falls 9 points, from +36 in the previous measurement, to +27.

Lacalle's lowest rating was in mid-January of this year, with 53%. However, June is the highest record in terms of disapproval (28%), surpassing January's 26%.

The drop in popularity is believed to stem from increased political tension between the government and the opposition over the health and economic management of the pandemic, coupled with the referendum against the LUC and other measures such as the increase in the price of fuel.