Haiti has no vaccine to offer its more than 11 million people a year after the start of the coronavirus pandemic, and experts fear that the well-being of Haitians is being sacrificed amid the violence and political instability stirring the country.
For now, Haiti can only expect 756,000 AstraZeneca vaccines to be distributed through a United Nations program delivering doses to the most needy countries. These free doses were expected to arrive no later than May, but they are expected to be delayed as Haiti missed a deadline and an Indian producer is prioritizing domestic demand.
“Haiti has recently completed the required documentation for shipments,” said Gavi, the Geneva-based Vaccine Alliance, which partially manages the UN’s COVAX program.
Haiti has also not signed up to a pilot program that distributes vaccines, according to the Pan American Health Organization. However, a spokeswoman praised other efforts by Haitians linked to the pandemic, such as better preparation for the hospital.
A state human rights research center cited by a US State Department report, meanwhile, said the Haitian government has embezzled more than $ 1 million in aid to combat the coronavirus. The report also accused government officials of spending $ 34 million “in the darkest way” and ignoring a body that must approve state contracts.
Lauré Adrien, director general of the Haitian Ministry of Health, attributed the delay in the arrival of vaccines to suspicions surrounding the AstraZeneca vaccine and fears the country does not have the necessary infrastructure to store the vaccines. He added that his agency prefers a single-dose vaccine. AstraZeneca needs two.
“It’s no secret that we don’t have a good storage capacity” for vaccines, he said. “We want to make sure we have everything under control before we get the vaccines.”
Adrien claimed that the money his agency received was well used, but it was not answered by other government agencies. A presidency spokesman did not respond to calls to discuss the matter.
Poor countries have to wait a long time for COVAX vaccines because rich countries have pig stocks. Most, however, received at least a first shipment. Some obtain vaccines through donations or private agreements.
Haiti reports 12,700 infections and 250 deaths, figures that are far from reality, according to experts.
While the use of chin straps in businesses is still mandatory, airport and curfew closures have long been suspended and there aren’t many additional precautions.
“People don’t really believe in the coronavirus,” said Esther Racine, 26, who has two children whose father died in the catastrophic 2010 earthquake.
Racine once worked as a housemaid, but started selling masks early in the pandemic. He sold 800 chin straps a month and now he barely sells 200.
“Look around you,” he remarked, pointing to a crowd of people without masks in the center of Port-au-Prince. His only customers today are people who need masks to enter a store.
He says Haitians have other concerns. “People are more concerned about violence than the virus,” he said.
At protest demonstrations and an increase in gang kidnappings and murders, many are wondering how people will be vaccinated given the instability and fear of leaving home.
There are also people who fear vaccination despite educational campaigns. On the other hand, some officials expressed concern about the AstraZeneca vaccine, which is being questioned in Europe because some people who got it suffered from blood clots.
“We can’t get the vaccine and then find out that they expire because no one wants to get vaccinated,” said Adrien.
Among those who say they do not intend to be vaccinated is Dorcelus Perkin, who owns a brick factory. On a recent morning, this 60-year-old man supervised more than a dozen employees who worked outside the home. Nobody had personal protective equipment.
“We cannot wear masks in the sun. You would choke, ”he said. He said the sun kills the virus, something that scientists have not proven.
Perkin attributes his good health to drinking salted green tea daily. “I believe more in these drugs than in vaccines. I don’t know what’s in vaccines ”.
International organizations are behind most of the resources and educational campaigns related to COVID-19 in Haiti. The Pan American Health Organization has provided the government with 500 test kits along with instructions for laboratory diagnosis and virus detection. It also provided thermometers, personal protective equipment, and other supplies, including megaphones and batteries for workers going to rural areas.
PAHO also trained 2,800 health workers in Haiti and held meetings with community leaders, including voodoo priests and traditional midwives, to share information on preventative measures and treatment centers.
In May 2020, the organization’s director said she was deeply concerned about the consequences of a possible large-scale outbreak, given the vulnerability of Haiti’s health services and the fact that many people live in overcrowded houses and lack access to clean water.
However, several experts are surprised that the dreaded outbreak did not take place.
“It’s a surprising amount,” said Aline Serin, director of a mission for the aid organization Doctors Without Borders. “At the moment there is not enough research or documentation to explain why some countries are less affected by severe cases of COVID-19.”
It is not clear when the first COVAX vaccines will arrive.
Haiti is one of 92 low-income countries waiting for such vaccines. It is also one of the countries affected by last week’s announcement that deliveries in March and April of the program’s orders to the Serum Institute of India – the world’s largest vaccine producer – were suspended due to an increase in infections. in India.
If doses are available, experts predict it will be difficult to get them into the arms of Haitians.
First you have to convince people like Duperval Germain, a 55-year-old carpenter who says neither he nor his children will be vaccinated. You are afraid of getting sick if you get vaccinated and don’t get the right treatment.
“All these heads of state we’ve had, if they get sick, they get out of here,” he said. ‘If I get sick, where should I go? Keep your vaccinations. Let them use them where they need them. Haiti does not need vaccines ”.
Coto reported from San Juan, Puerto Rico. Jamey Keaten, Associated Press journalist, contributed from Geneva.