The Nation / Deputies propose to ask that Covax return money from vaccines

The president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, gave Covax an ultimatum on Sunday after denouncing that the country has made all pending payments without receiving vaccines for immunization against COVID-19.

“The Covax system has failed Venezuela. We complied (…), doing magic to unlock resources that had blocked us, “said Maduro, ensuring that his government has completed the $ 120 million payment required by the mechanism of the World Health Organization (WHO) so that developing countries have access to vaccines.

Read more: “Hemingway” continues this weekend at Arlequín Teatro

“I have given precise instructions to the executive vice president and president of the presidential commission against COVID (Delcy Rodríguez) to act this week and say an ultimatum to the Covax system: either they send us the vaccines or they give us our money back! And we, if they give us back the money, we will know where to go to buy because we have already talked with world, multilateral institutions to do so, “he added in a televised event. “Enough of the teasing.”

Last month, in the midst of a controversy that has lasted for months, Maduro had asked his United States counterpart, Joe Biden, to unlock $ 10 million destined to pay off Venezuela’s debt.

Those funds, according to the Chavista government, were frozen by a Swiss bank for an “investigation.” Venezuela has been hit by financial sanctions led by Washington, which hinder its access to the international financial system.

Read more: Universo 970 AM launches its new space called “Country Agenda”

Ciro Ugarte, director of Health Emergencies of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), a regional body of the WHO, had referred to this outstanding balance, although he asserted that the process to send vaccines to Venezuela was “underway.”

“Can not be. Eight weeks with the money frozen (…). If you can’t, if the Covax system says you can’t, give us back the money, ”Maduro insisted this Sunday. Venezuela, with 30 million inhabitants, accumulates more than 276,000 cases of COVID-19 and about 3,200 deaths, according to official figures questioned by organizations such as Human Rights Watch, which it considers hide a high under-registration.

The mass vaccination process has been slow in the South American country. Maduro says that approximately 11% of the population has been immunized, although PAHO reports that only some 224,000 people in Venezuela have completed the two-dose process with the Russian Sputnik-V and Chinese Sinopharm vaccines, available in this nation.

Source: AFP.

– .