May 19, 2024

Venezuela’s Covid Toll Is About to Surge

Courtesy of HRW

Mass vaccination would be a blessing, yet a partisan Catch-22 has threatened to scotch an agreement to secure up to 6 million doses of imported Covid-19 shots earmarked for Venezuela through the World Health Organization’s Covax mechanism. Bloomberg News reported on Feb. 11 that a breakthrough may be near, yet until now Maduro has claimed he can’t pay for the vaccines due to funds frozen by the U.S. government, while U.S.-backed opposition leader Juan Guaido won’t vouch for release of those funds until Maduro toes the line with the regional health authority, the Pan American Health Organization.Unbowed, Maduro snubbed Guaido and his gringo sponsors by announcing a deal with Moscow to import Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine, 100,000 doses of which are expected to land next week and perhaps millions more sometime hence. But for now, sadly, the best plan for most Venezuelans to defend against the ravages at home may still be to head next door. By Mac Margolis. Full Text -> Bloomberg

Translation/ Traducción