Public health officials have long warned that Venezuela, with an unraveling health-care system and roughly a decade of political unrest, has alarmingly low vaccination rates.
CARACAS, Venezuela — Wails pierced the walls of the walk-in clinic tucked among rundown homes in the heart of Venezuela’s capital. Artemis Parra got one vaccine in each arm, for polio and measles. The shots were free at the government site, and they filled gaps in the 1-year-old’s vaccination record. But they weren’t enough to meet national requirements for children her age. Artemis needs two more, to protect against potentially fatal diarrheal and respiratory diseases.
Many children lack several of the 10 vaccines recommended by 12 months of age, to protect against 14 diseases including polio, measles and tuberculosis. Two of the shots — those Artemis needs, to protect against rotavirus and and pneumococcal disease — have hardly been given at all over the past several years.
“In situations of conflict, you often see a variety of different parties using the provision of health services as a way of generating favor,” said Katherine Bliss, director of the Immunizations and Health Systems Resilience program at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies. “That may also be manifested in a lack of trust in public authorities and a lack of trust in public programs, like vaccination programs.
Globally, 84% of all children received a first dose, and 70% got two, according to World Health Organization and UNICEF data. Neither shot was offered at clinics like the one Artemis Parra visited. Pediatricians at public hospitals and staff at vaccination sites routinely instruct parents to purchase the shots from private practices. But, as in Artemis’ household, most families cannot afford them.
This year, for example, the measles, rubella and mumps vaccine costs as little as $1.55 per dose. Prices are higher for others: rotavirus shots at $6.50, pneumococcal vaccines, $14.50. In line, Campos told other parents one way to get vaccines not available at the clinic: Travel to Colombia. It’s a journey of more than 500 miles from Caracas, Venezuela’s capital. For those fortunate enough to have a car, the trip takes at least 13 hours, thanks to poor road conditions and military checkpoints. A bus trip is longer.
In 2017, Venezuela purchased 33 million doses, and that increased to 43 million in 2018, according to a PAHO report. In 2019, with outstanding arrears, the government bought no doses — only a smaller number of syringes, likely to administer any vaccines remaining from prior orders or humanitarian aid.
Treasury officials referred questions about approvals, including any to potentially cover vaccine purchases, to Guaidó’s team. It’s unclear whether Venezuelan officials have made recent efforts to buy vaccines outside PAHO’s mechanism. Officials previously bought vaccines from allied governments and outsourced supply purchases through Cuba. Sanctions don’t prohibit health care-related transactions. Venezuela also receives vaccine help from other nations and aid organizations.
“Children in Venezuela are being placed at risk because of that one-two hit of malnutrition and lack of access to vaccination,” he said.
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