Why are the Red Ponchos warriors afraid of the covid vaccine?

Anahí Cazas / La Paz

Mario Flores Mamani, a red poncho from Ajllata Grande, from Achacachi, -a town of warrior Aymaras that is part of the Omasuyos province of La Paz- says that in the two years of the Covid-19 pandemic, the inhabitants of his community endured everything, except the requirement of the vaccination card to enter public and private entities.

“Many people have opposed it,” says Flores and recalls that in 2020, the first year of the arrival of the coronavirus in the country, in his land many older adults lost their lives with suspicions of the disease and that the youngest resisted thanks to medicine. traditional.

At the headquarters of the Red Ponchos -a building with more than two floors that is located in Achacachi- Flores tells Página Siete that -at first- they tried to explain about decrees 4640 and 4641 that required the presentation of the anticovid vaccination card, but the residents they objected. “The community members do not want the vaccine because they prefer traditional medicine,” he says.

Edwin Larico, indigenous authority of the Red Ponchos of Achacachi, agrees with Flores and assures that the mandatory nature of this document caused anger in the communities. “They were upset and said: how are they going to ask us for a vaccination card if they don’t even inform us about the vaccine, they don’t socialize what it is good for or not?” explains Larico.
The red ponchos are part of the Omasuyos province.

Photo: Archive

The leadership of the Red Ponchos expressed their annoyance against the Government’s measure and demanded the annulment of the decrees, and also requested the resignation of the Minister of Health, Jeyson Auza. “No one can be subjected to medical intervention without prior consent,” explains Rudy Condori, top executive and representative of the Red Ponchos of the Omasuyos province, in his speech.

For the leaders, beyond fighting against the imposition of the decrees, the communities do not accept the anticovid vaccine due to lack of information about the benefits, fear caused by false messages and distrust in the public health system.

Larico explains that due to the lack of true information about the benefits of immunization, many residents reject the vaccine and do not believe in the benefits of the doses. “Unfortunately they have not come to the communities to socialize about this issue,” he explains and comments that the highest health authorities should take charge of this work.

Many of the residents indicate that the health brigades do not reach the communities to inform about the anticovid vaccination. Some indicate that the health personnel made house-to-house visits in several towns in Omasuyos, but they were unsuccessful because they arrived with the injectable ready for application and the neighbors did not want to open the door because they heard negative messages against the dose or because they did not know nothing about the inoculant.

Why are the Red Ponchos warriors afraid of the covid vaccine? — “Many resist because of the negative information they received about the doses and the sayings of the people,” explains Javier Bautista, red poncho and former Assemblyman. He indicates that the staff of the health centers and the second level hospital in Achacachi carried out campaigns on this issue, but they were not effective and strategic.
A hospital ward
second level of Achacachi.

Photo: Photos: Víctor Gutiérrez / Page Seven

“The Headquarters (the Departmental Health Service) did send information, but it has to be reinforced, it has to reach the communities and explain to the people what the vaccine is for,” says Bautista and is encouraged to give a suggestion: the authorities Municipal and departmental authorities should organize themselves to enter the communities and socialize this issue with the help of the leaders and representatives of the populations. “That part just needs to be worked on,” he adds.

Why would it be a good strategy? According to Bautista, the Red Ponchos respect very much what their leaders say. “The organic part is very strict in the Omasuyos province. We have a commander who is the provincial executive, what he instructs, is carried out and goes down step by step to the agrarian centrals, sub-centrals, agrarian unions and the bases. The organic part is very strict and has to be followed,” he says.

The fear of the unknown

Eusebio Quispe, a red poncho from Ajllata Grande de Achacachi in the Omasuyos province, says that he carries the warrior blood of his grandparents in his veins and says that he is not easily frightened, but -since the middle of last year- he has been constantly worried. “I have heard alarming comments about the covid vaccine. They say that this vaccine is not good, that it is harmful to humanity. They say that it harms us, that if they give us (the dose) we are going to get sick, we are going to become invalids. That is alarming,” he recounts.

“The Minister of Health does not clarify that, he does not clarify what it is good for, he simply gives us a vaccine, but he does not say what it is good or bad for,” Quispe denies and says that he is now healthy and does not need the inoculant. “I am afraid that I will do badly,” he admits.

It’s not the only one. The leader Edwin Larico says that “there are some brothers who do not want the vaccine because they are afraid.” “That’s why we ask you to tell us what it’s like, we want more information,” he insists. “There is a lot of confusion. We need training courses,” he says.

According to Larico, many community members of Los Ponchos Rojos hear good and bad comments about the anticovid vaccine on radio programs and in rumors that reach the towns. Most stay with the negative version of immunization.

Freddy Baltazar, coordinator of the rural area of Sedes La Paz, indicates that these negative messages come from anti-vaccine groups that also operate in rural areas. “They put up giant posters with messages to discourage the neighbors. For example, they say: ‘the vaccine kills’”.

Why are these communities rejecting vaccines? “They are due to cultural and religious situations, in addition to comments they saw on social networks (about the inoculants),” says Baltazar. “Our task is to counteract these beliefs against doses,” he adds.

María, a native of Achacachi and who lives a few steps from the cemetery of this municipality, explains that -in reality- the residents are afraid of the unknown. She assures that she and many of her neighbors were not afraid of covid, despite witnessing the increase in burials in the first months of the pandemic. According to the Headquarters report, in two years Achacachi -called the capital of the Red Ponchos- reported 11 confirmed deaths from coronavirus.

For the settlers, there is an under-registration. “Many people have died, especially our grandparents in their 80s and 90s. For me and for many, the deaths were due to age, but perhaps it had something to do with covid. 2020 was a leader and we buried many older adults. About 29 were from my agrarian central”, says Mario Flores. He adds that almost all deaths were not confirmed due to lack of access to diagnostic tests.

Photo: Archive

For the leader Javier Bautista, the resistance and lack of fear of covid has only one answer: trust in traditional medicine. He says that he attests to that and assures that in January he tested positive for the coronavirus and overcame the disease without problems. “Three days he had sweat and nothing else,” he adds.

César Cruz, a red poncho who lives in a community near the La Paz municipality of Achacachi, shares that look. He says that many residents with covid symptoms treated themselves at home and used traditional herbs from their grandparents, such as eucalyptus and chamomile teas, they also included matico.

“We practice the knowledge of our grandparents, our ancestors. Sometimes we go to health centers, but it is in extreme cases, such as accidents. We always prioritize traditional medicine,” he says.

For Mario Flores there is also a mistrust of the public health system due to bad experiences. “There is no good care, there are no supplies at the posts. One goes and they only give paracetamol”, he assures. “There is no trust, that’s why they don’t go to hospitals,” he adds.

Esnor Condori, former representative of the residents of Achacachi, has already warned that many of the health centers in rural areas operate with limited supplies and equipment.

This mistrust is reflected in the empty wards of the second level hospital in Achacachi. One of the workers says that they put all their effort into caring for covid patients. In the first year of the pandemic they installed an isolation center. For vaccination, according to a nurse, the staff visits several areas, but the residents do not open their doors. They even beg, but the community members of Los Ponchos Rojos resist.

This report was produced with the support of the International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF) as part of its Global Health Reporting Initiative: Vaccines and Immunization in Latin America and the Caribbean.