Haiti does not have a single vaccine to offer its more than 11 million people more than a year after the start of the pandemic, raising concerns among health experts that the well-being of Haitians is being overlooked as violence and political instability deepen across the country.
So far, Haiti is scheduled to receive only 756,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine through a United Nations program that aims to ensure that countries most in need receive Covid-19 vaccines. The free doses were scheduled to arrive no later than May, but delays are expected because Haiti has missed the deadline and the main Indian manufacturer is now prioritizing an increase in domestic demand.
“Haiti has only recently completed some of the essential documentation that is a prerequisite for processing a remittance order,” said Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, a Geneva-based public-private partnership that is co-managing the supported Covax effort by the UN.
The country also did not enroll in a pilot program in which it would have received some of its doses ahead of time, according to the Pan American Health Organization. However, a spokeswoman praised her other pandemic efforts, including strengthening preparedness. from hospital.
In the meantime, a human rights research center cited in a new report by the U.S. Department of State concluded that the government of Haiti has misappropriated more than $ 1 million in aid for the coronavirus. The report also accused government officials of spending $ 34 million on “greater opacity”, bypassing an agency charged with approving state contracts.
Lauré Adrien, general director of the Haitian Ministry of Health, blamed the vaccine’s delay in scrutinizing AstraZeneca’s vaccines and fears that the country does not have the necessary infrastructure to ensure adequate storage of the vaccine, adding that his agency prefers a dose vaccine only. AstraZeneca requires two doses.
“It’s no secret that we don’t have excellent conservation facilities,” he said. “We wanted to make sure that we had all parameters under control before we received vaccine stocks.”
Adrien also noted that all the money his agency received was spent properly, but said he could not speak for other agencies. A presidential spokesman did not return calls for comment.
Many poorer countries have had a long wait to obtain Covax vaccines as the richer countries have grabbed supplies, although most have received at least one initial shipment. Some solved the problem with their own hands, guaranteeing shots through donations and private deals.
The lack of vaccines in Haiti occurs when the country records more than 12,700 cases and 250 deaths, numbers that experts believe are underreported.
The ongoing protests and the rise in gang-related kidnappings and killings make some wonder how any vaccine will be administered, given the lack of stability associated with the growing number of people afraid to leave their homes.
Perceptions also remain a major challenge.
Although masks remain mandatory for companies in Haiti, airport closings and curfews have already been lifted and other precautions are rare.
“People don’t really believe in the coronavirus,” said Esther Racine, a 26-year-old mother of two boys whose father died in the catastrophic 2010 earthquake.
Racine once worked as a maid, but started selling face masks early in the pandemic, doing business with about 800 sales a month. Now, she barely sells 200.
“Look around,” she said, waving to an unmasked crowd that flared around her in the center of Port-au-Prince. The only customers today are those who need a mask to enter a nearby supermarket, she said, adding that Haitians have other problems on their mind: “People are more concerned with violence than with the virus.”