Mass Vaccination in Venezuela Reaches Yanomami Indigenous Communities

Mass vaccination against COVID-19 in Venezuela is reaching the remotest places of the country, overcoming logistical challenges. On Saturday, June 5, mass vaccination of the Yanomami indigenous communities in the state of Amazonas began, where the Ministry of Health is working together with the Autonomous Service of the Amazon Center for Research and Control of Tropical Diseases. This was reported by the Foreign Affairs Minister of Venezuela, Jorge Arreaza on Saturday, through a post in his Twitter account.

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The government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela started the second stage of mass vaccination on May 29. This phase includes indigenous peoples living in the remotest territories of the country. The Yanomami community who were vaccinated on this occasion lives in the Amazonas state, in a territory that shares forest borders with Brazil. This area is very hard to reach because it is in the Amazon rain forests where there are no long-distance land routes; the only way to reach these communities is by air or by boat, and most of these communities lack electricity supply in homes.

In the video posted by Arreaza, a medical care specialist is seen applying a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine to a member of the indigenous community. The minister also informed that comprehensive healthcare is being served to the Yanomami communities. The indigenous populations of Venezuela became visible since the arrival of the Bolivarian Revolution led by the late president, Commander Hugo Chávez.

COVID-19 in Venezuela
Since the beginning of the pandemic, a total of 240,714 infections and 2,708 deaths have been recorded in Venezuela, with 221,108 people recovered, which puts the recovery rate at 92%.

This Saturday, June 5, Venezuela registered 1,462 new cases of COVID-19 infection, as reported by the executive vice president of the Republic and president of the commission for the Prevention and Control of COVID-19, Delcy Rodríguez, on her Twitter account.

https://twitter.com/delcyrodriguezv/status/1401355724878401538?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1401355724878401538%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fredradiove.com%2Fjornada-de-vacunacion-ampliada-llega-a-comunidades-yanomami%2F

Vaccination
Rodríguez also thanked Russia and China for the cooperation that has made mass vaccination in Venezuela possible inspite of the obstacles generated by the unilateral coercive measures imposed by the United States government.

“When we hear statements from representatives of the United States government who say that they are not going to send vaccines to Venezuela, well, here is the people getting vaccinated,” Rodríguez told VTV. ”This is a strong response from our people, who will never submit to any blackmail or extortion.”

The executive vice president assured that more doses of different COVID-19 vaccines are expected to arrive in June. This will allow to continue advancing in the immunization of the Venezuelan people. According to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the shipment to Venezuela of more than 11 million units purchased through the Covax system is pending.

Featured image: A Shabono, Yanomami housing structure in the middle of the Amazon forest. Photo courtesy of © LArs Løvold.

(RedRadioVE) by Patricia Ferrer

Translation: Orinoco Tribune

OT/JRE/SC