In times of Covid-19 the original peoples are also the great forgotten ones. Photo taken from Radio Bayamo
By María Josefina Arce
Inequality in vaccination against COVID-19 is not limited to that existing between industrialized and less developed nations, but is also evident within the borders and includes population sectors such as Indigenous peoples.
Immunization is not progressing fast enough among these peoples, even though scientific studies have revealed that the vulnerability to the virus of these communities, especially those settled in the Amazon in South America, is up to 10 times higher than the average.
Before the pandemic, these peoples already had poor access to health care and sanitation and high rates of communicable and non-communicable diseases.
In Brazil, 163 ethnic groups, more than half of those in the South American country, have been affected by the disease caused by the new coronavirus, but vaccination is still insufficient.
Until the middle of this month, only 44% of the members of the native peoples have been fully immunized against the disease.
The Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil warned that these ethnic groups in the South American giant are experiencing a health emergency. COVID-19 has cost the lives of more than ONE THOUSAND indigenous people, while about 51 THOUSAND have been infected with the disease.
The situation could become more complicated, since the Omicron variant is present in that country, which has a vertiginous rate of transmission and is already increasing the number of sick people in other nations of the world.
The danger is greater for these communities, given the constant invasions of their territories by outsiders engaged in illegal activities, encouraged by the government of President Jair Bolsonaro. These are people who, in addition to destroying the environment, can bring disease.
The native peoples have already suffered from governmental abandonment and discrimination. The situation was so complex that in August last year the Supreme Court of Justice forced the executive to adopt measures such as the creation of sanitary barriers, in response to the demands of several organizations.
The Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil pointed out that the management problems of the authorities before COVID-19 in their territories are an expression of the hate speech that characterizes the current government and institutional racism.
The native peoples are once again the forgotten ones. Their lives are put at risk, the valuable knowledge they have and the history of these communities are lost.
