War and doubts slow down COVID vaccine discussed in Yemen Coronavirus pandemic News

Many Yemenis seem to be reluctant to be vaccinated for religious reasons, because of distrust of the vaccine, or because of the dangers of war.

At the Al-Thawra Hospital in the Yemeni city of Taiz, a nurse with no face mask or protective equipment inoculates a few who have shown interest in the COVID-19 vaccine.

AstraZeneca takes a bottle from a cooler box, warms it with his hands and calls on God’s name before a shot enters a man’s left arm.

Yemen has received 360,000 doses from the global COVAX vaccine sharing scheme, yet many Yemenis do not want to be insulted for religious reasons due to mistrust of the vaccine or the dangers of war.

“We received 70,000 doses in Taiz and started the vaccination campaign on April 21,” said Rajeh al-Maliki, head of Yemen’s Taiz health ministry.

“We can pretty much say that there is little interest … we’ve distributed about 500 shots since we started, it’s less than we expected,” Maliki said.

Infections have risen sharply this year in Yemen, narrowing the health system plagued by wars, economic collapse and funding shortfalls.

The Houthi-aligned Houthi movement, which controls most parts of northern Yemen and Taiz, has been fighting against the Saudi-backed government since 2014. Ten thousand people have been killed and millions are left in aid of survival.

Al-Maliki and other doctors have said many Yemenis, including medical staff, believe the vaccine will break the fast during the holy month of Ramadan.

Highly militarized city checkpoints and snipers said it was impossible for many residents to reach hospitals.

People living in Houthi-controlled neighborhoods have to travel about 50 km to avoid the front lines and reach the main government-controlled hospital.

“I was infected with coronavirus, I took the natural herbs and spices used by our ancestors. I was fine again, ”said 55-year-old Taiz resident Ali Abdou.

“We work very hard with our bodies and it gives us great immunity, one of us only dies when his time comes. These rare diseases only affect the rich and we are not among them,” Abdou said.

Mohammed Muthana, another resident, said officials and doctors will wait until they are vaccinated so they can be trusted.

At Al-Thawra Hospital, Yemeni doctor Sarah Damaj tried to convince the Yemeni that the vaccine is safe and does not break the fast.

“People are scared because there is a lot of misinformation, especially on social media,” he said.