Despite having more than
50 percent of its population fully vaccinated against the virus, the number of infected patients suffering severe and life-threatening symptoms isn’t waning.
By contrast, neighboring Bolivia only has
34 percent of its population fully immunized, but has suffered a far smaller percentage of deaths.
A trifecta of factors has contributed to Peru’s high mortality rate, including oxygen shortages, a large rural-based population, and the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine’s low efficacy in
preventing infection.
In the city of Iquitos, Emilio Alvarez, 49, is recovering from the effects of
COVID-19. He coughed into the phone while telling The Epoch Times, “This virus has taken everything from me.”
Back in February, Peru struggled with a
significant peak in cases of the CCP virus. Alvarez lost his wife of 23 years, who died while waiting for a shipment of supplemental oxygen to arrive at the isolated jungle city.
“You have to understand, this town [Iquitos] can’t be reached by road. Anything that comes here is by air or boat,” Alvarez explained.
He said hospitals in the city ran short of critical supplies like oxygen tanks, which
cost the lives of hundreds of patients suffering extreme symptoms like Alvarez’s wife.
Medical professionals in the beleaguered nation have been vocal about the dire consequences of oxygen shortages during the pandemic.
Dr. Javier Gutiérrez, head of the Medical College in the Arequipa region,
said, “There is a lack of oxygen [in medical facilities], and many people are dying because of that.”
He further explained the government has known that
oxygen shortages are among the factors behind Peru’s inflated death rate since last year, but has done nothing to resolve the issue.
Carlos Calampa del Aquila, regional health director for Loreto Department,
confirmed this assessment, and said, “The oxygen problem is at the country level.”
After losing his wife, Alvarez chose vaccination at the urging of his children. However, in September, he developed symptoms and ended up testing positive for the CCP virus.
Within three days of testing positive, Alvarez’s oldest daughter had to purchase an oxygen tank to help ease her father’s worsening respiratory symptoms.
Almost two months later, he continues to struggle with coughing and extreme fatigue, which has kept him at home under the care of his adult children.
“First, it [the virus] took my wife, then my strength and my lungs. What was the point of the vaccine if not to avoid this?” Alvarez asked.
A study conducted by the
Peruvian Ministry of Health during the peak of the country’s second wave this year, revealed in a group of almost 400,000 frontline healthcare workers, the Chinese Sinopharm BBIBP-CorV vaccine was only 50.4 percent effective in preventing infection.
Sinopharm is among the vaccines
approved for use by the Peruvian government and is also the one Alvarez received before contracting the virus in September.
Yarabamba resident Patricia Herrera told The Epoch Times living in small towns can be a death sentence during the pandemic.
“Even just 30 patients can overwhelm our resources,” she explained.
In her village, Herrera wasn’t able to find advanced health care for her brother, who fell ill with the virus back in June and quickly developed dangerous respiratory symptoms.
She said, “I had to get him to Arequipa, which still doesn’t have the kind of facilities he needed.”
Herrera’s brother passed away from complications and delayed access to critical oxygen therapy, which she said was a common theme seen in rural communities throughout the pandemic.
Almost
22 percent of Peru’s population of 33 million people lives in rural areas, which creates problems for those who need access to advanced healthcare, and has been a pressing issue even
before the arrival of the virus.
Peru reported a total of 2,214,543 cases of the CCP virus and administered 37,300,001
vaccine doses as of Nov. 12.
