Missteps in connecting with Indigenous communities factored into the nation’s low vaccination rate.
A woman receives a dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine in San Juan Sacatepequez, Guatemala, in July 2021.“AstraZeneca, Moderna, Pfizer! Come and get vaccinated against COVID-19 today!” three nurses shouted through megaphones as they wove through crowds of weekend shoppers in Guatemala City.
Guatemala has one of the lowest COVID-19 vaccination rates in Latin America: only about 35% of people have been fully vaccinated . The health ministry has recorded more than 900,000 SARS-CoV-2 infections and 18,500 deaths since the pandemic began. But this is probably an underestimate, because of a lack of testing, says Óscar Chávez, co-founder of the data-analysis think tank Laboratorio de Datos, based in Guatemala City.
Failing to educate Guatemalans about the side effects that are a normal reaction to the COVID-19 jabs increased scepticism, Ramírez says. “Guatemala’s message was too simple: ‘The vaccine is good, go get it.’” The health ministry spokesperson says that this did not prevent local health authorities from translating information prior to the request. The PAHO report found that of the 27 regions surveyed, only 10 had translated materials for their local populations by November 2021.
“The health ministry only comes to impose itself and never listens,” says Petzey Quiejú, who has been studying vaccine hesitancy. In cases where researchers have sat down with community leaders such as priests and comadronas – traditional Maya midwives — to discuss community concerns, they were able to increase vaccine uptake, he adds.
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