Global Comment

Where the world thinks out loud

The impact of Covid-19 on Venezuelan healthcare workers

Doctor office examination

Covid-19 has severely attacked populations all over the world. Vaccination plans will help ease the burden in the near future, but some countries are behind schedule, as is the case in Venezuela.

A total of 880,000 vaccines arrived in the country between February and April 2021. By April, immunization of the general population had not started but one of the major concerns is the delay in vaccinating health personnel, who face the virus on a daily basis.

According to data from the organization Doctors United Venezuela (Médicos Unidos Venezuela), 513 health workers had died in the country by April 25. The dramatic increase in the number of infections and deaths has alarmed the guild. By the same date, the government only recognized the death of 2,047 people in total since the beginning of the pandemic.

“Our reports are based on clinical, epidemiological, radiodiagnostic and laboratory criteria, and are not necessarily included in the reports of the official spokespersons.”

Doctors United Venezuela began to investigate the cases because they noticed that many colleagues had not been tested, therefore they were not included in the government’s lists.

One year after the arrival of the virus, Venezuela is experiencing one of its worst moments, with a worrying increase in the number of infections and deaths. Maduro’s government offers higher figures than those presented a few months ago but the number does not seem to coincide with reality.

“Once again we demand transparency in the epidemiological information on the number of cases and the number of deaths in the country. Unofficially, we have information about what is happening in some hospitals, which is not the same as that handled by official spokespersons”, Doctors United Venezuela reports in its social networks.

The lack of evidence impedes the ability to keep records that resemble reality. In addition, due to the scarce beds available, many people have opted to comply with treatment at home, even when the patients need oxygen.

Doctors United Venezuela also expresses concern about delayed funeral services, due to low operational capacity.

“The list for cremation of the deceased is getting longer every day because they exceed their capacities. Up to a week of waiting for cremation procedures. This could increase the risk of contagion.”

The first cases of deaths among healthcare personnel occurred in June 2020. Since then, the highest peaks have occurred in August 2020 and March-April 2021. According to data from Doctors United Venezuela, 296 deaths of health workers occurred between June and December and, in the first months of the year, the numbers have doubled. Just between April 6 and 8, 14 deaths of health workers meeting the Covid-19 criteria were reported.

Some doctors have denounced the problem and are demanding vaccines through their social media, despite the political persecution in Venezuela. A report on freedom of expression in quarantine, carried out by the NGO Espacio Público, reveals that between March 2020 and January 2021, 90 people were arrested for expressing criticism towards the government on the management of Covid-19.

For its part, Amnesty International recognized the lack of protection for health personnel and human rights defenders in the country. Venezuela is not the only place where complaints about health conditions in times of pandemic are silenced, but there, persecution happens frequently and official data and information are generally lacking.

Doctor Jorge Pérez condemned the discrepancy in the official figures via his social networks. He mentioned that in a survey carried out at the end of March, consulting more than 150 obstetrician-gynecologists (a specialty with one of the highest rates of deaths related to Covid in Venezuela), it was found that 95% of them were not vaccinated.

The doctor indicated that he made the video because of the increase in cases and the lack of protective measures for healthcare personnel.

“In the last 9 days (March) 6 colleagues have died with Covid symptoms. They are not reported in the figures that the authorities say every day. Are we invisible?”

The medical personnel are amongst the first in the vaccination schedules, where political figures related to Maduro’s government were also added. But according to representatives of the health sector, medical workers are not being prioritized. They also consider that the vaccination figures offered by the government do not correspond to reality.

Venezuela has received 380,000 doses of Sputnik V vaccine, as well as 500,000 doses of Sinopharm. According to figures from Doctors United Venezuela, there are 315,000 active workers in the Ministry of Health, not counting the personnel of other institutions.

The Venezuelan Medical Federation points out that more than 50 million doses are necessary to immunize 25 million inhabitants. Maduro announced that 11 million vaccines will be obtained through the Covax system, which could be used for 5.5 million Venezuelans. In the meantime, citizens are concerned about distribution taking place without political partiality, but rather according to the needs of the most vulnerable populations.

In April, a pilot plan was announced to vaccinate around 500 senior citizens. The group was selected based on the data of the ‘carnet de la patria’, a government identification mechanism, which not all citizens possess, and has been qualified as a social control device by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. That same week, the vaccination of health personnel of an important public hospital was cancelled.

The president of the Venezuelan Medical Federation, Douglas León Natera, criticized animosity towards doctors who are not in favor of the government of Nicolás Maduro, in spite of the notable increase of cases.

“The medical guild demands immediate vaccination for health professionals without distinctions or exclusions.”

Doctor Marino González, a member of the National Academy of Medicine of Venezuela, indicates that according to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation of the University of Washington, the average number of Covid cases in Venezuela is 9 times higher than that reported by Maduro. The maximum estimate would be 12 times higher.

“That is, 14,000 cases per day versus the 1,118 registered.”

While doctors, nurses and all health personnel continue to be exposed every day, there are growing reports of vaccination of political figures and their families, who are not among the priority populations.

According to an estimate by Doctors United Venezuela, between 25 and 30 years of experience in medicine are being lost in the country, due to the fact that a large percentage of the deceased were over 50 years of age. A loss that joins the exodus of doctors to other countries in recent years and that will begin to be noticed in the near future.

Image credit: rawpixel.com