Venezuela: Health professionals on the street for vaccines

More than 150 people, mostly health professionals, demonstrated in Caracas on Saturday demanding vaccinations against the coronavirus, as Venezuela was hit by a second deadly wave, AFP was spotted on the spot.

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“Enough deaths!”, “SOS vaccines now!” Opposition-backed demonstrators can read on the signs identified.

“Venezuela is facing a pandemic, an invisible enemy, and it wants to save lives, it wants vaccines,” opposition leader Juan Guido told reporters, while wearing the mask: “Now vaccines!”.

Some sections of the international community, including the United States, consider Mr Guido to be Venezuela ‘s caretaker president, as he seeks to oust President Nicolas Maduro.

These countries do not recognize the legitimacy of Mr. Maduro’s re-election in 2018 on the ballot boycotted by the opposition.

Venezuela began campaigning for a vaccine with the Russian Sputnik V and Chinese synoform vaccines in late February, but received less than a million doses. President Maduro announced that the first beneficiaries of the vaccine were health professionals, but the College of Physicians condemned the delay.

NGO Modesins Younis has confirmed that more than 480 health workers have died since the outbreak began.

With a population of 30 million, 180,000 cases were reported in the country, with more than 20,000 cases in March, with the advent of the Brazilian variant, which was considered even more contagious, with statistics saying that nearly 1,900 people had died since the outbreak began. . These figures are considered “completely untrue” by the opposition. Hospitals were overcrowded.

The government claims to have paid only half of the amount required to purchase the 11.3 million doses of the vaccine through the Kovacs policy, which is maintained by the World Health Organization (WHO). None of these vaccines have arrived yet.

In addition, Venezuela will produce the Cuban anti-Kovid vaccine, up to two million doses per month from August, President Maduro promised last week.