Pressured by criticism, the vice president of Bolivia finally gets vaccinated against the covid

by time news

The vice president of Bolivia, David Choquehuanca, an Aymara philosopher attached to traditional Andean medicine, could not with the social pressure and on Monday he finally received the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine.

Choquehuanca thus seeks to put an end to the controversy, when the obligation to exhibit the vaccination certificate against Covid-19 before the greater escalation of infections since the start of the pandemic.

True to his beliefs, the 60-year-old vice president was sprayed with the smoke of an incense by a yatiri – an Aymara priest – as a cleaning.

The Minister of Health, Jeyson Auza, gave him the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine in a central square in La Paz, early in the morning.

“We want to salute the compliance with the regulations of our brother David Choquehuanca,” said the Minister of Health.

“We have to protect and take care of the health of our people with the two medicines: pharmacology and the traditional and ancestral against the coronavirus. I was infected in 2020 and I overcame with traditional medicine, I even took chlorine dioxide. The second time it was not so strong and I overcame with traditional medicine. I call on the population to protect itself, “said Choquehuanca in statements to local media.

This Saturday the vaccination card came into force in Bolivia, necessary to enter public places. Photo: AFP

Choquehuanca was last week in the eye of the controversy for not having been vaccinated, something that earned him criticism from the opposition and from his own party, the ruling Movement for Socialism (MAS), since it was understood that his attitude contradicted the state policy of vaccination before the acute fourth escalation of the pandemic.

Health pass and controversy

On Monday, thousands of people across the country turned out en masse to the vaccination posts against the requirement to show the health pass in offices, banks, markets and parks, among others.

About 22 million vaccines – twice the population and largely donated – arrived in the country, including Sputnik V, Sinopharm, AstraZeneca, Jansen, Pfizer and Moderna, but eThe level of vaccination with two doses is 38.74%, according to the Our World in Data site.

Evangelical churches and indigenous unions rejected the obligation to carry a health pass. “We are not against our government, but that obligation was not consulted with us, traditional medicine prevails in rural areas,” said leader José Luis Chura.

“We are not going to abide by the decree under threat. The vaccine cannot be mandatory, the constitution guarantees freedom and God says that there are those who dictate unjust laws,” complained Pastor Luis Aruquipa, of the National Christian Council of Evangelical Churches. .

A woman shows her vaccination certificate to enter a bank in La Paz, this Monday.  Photo: AFP

A woman shows her vaccination certificate to enter a bank in La Paz, this Monday. Photo: AFP

Case explosion

The Minister of Health pointed out that last week they have registered “more chaos in the country throughout the pandemic”, since for three consecutive days the infections of the three previous waves were overcome until reaching almost 8,000 new daily cases.

However, Auza stressed that the fatality rate was only 0.8% in this fourth epidemiological escalation and that so far there has not been a collapse of health centers.

The authorities attribute the escalation to the delta variant and assure that the presence of omicron in the country is not confirmed, but experts question that version.

Education Minister Edgar Pary said it was not safe for students to return to classrooms on February 1, when the school year was scheduled to start, due to escalating infections.

In 21 months, the pandemic accumulated 614,941 infections and 19,733 deaths in Bolivia until Sunday.

Source: AP

CB

.

You may also like

Leave a Comment