The Government of Guatemala reported on Monday that 11 members of their medical staff vaccinating against the Covid-19 were assaulted and retained for seven hours in a community in the north of the Central American country.
The aggressions and the retention of the medical personnel took place in a village of the municipality of Fray Bartolomé de las Casas, located in the department of Alta Verapaz, about 150 kilometers north of the city of Guatemala.
The Government of Alejandro Giammattei detailed journalists that the 11 vaccinators were rescued on Monday afternoon by security forces after a “dialogue” with community leaders and with “about 500 people” who were in place.
“The people of the community indicated that they opposed vaccination after one of the villagers vaccinated and subsequently suffered their own side effects, which were interpreted as health breakdowns,” said a press release from Giammattei’s government
About incidents.
The residents of the community in Alta Verapaz, called Maguila, “discouraged vaccinators’ cell phones, punctuated the tires of the vehicle where the revenues and outputs” of the village, until finally release the medical staff.
“The authorities evaluate what happened to take the corresponding actions,” concluded the press release, which recalled that within the medical staff “women who were attacked” by the inhabitants.
A total of 2.5 million Guatemalans have received the complete scheme (two doses) of vaccination by the Ministry of Health, while another 2.1 million people have received at least one dose.
However, with a population of more than 16.3 million inhabitants, Guatemala remains one of the countries of Latin America with the worst vaccination rates, according to reports from international organizations.
This Monday, the Giammattei Government reported on 20 more deaths by the COVID-19 and 386 new contagions, as far as Guatemala adds 13,750 deaths because of the disease and 566,636 positive cases, the highest figures in Central America.
