While some countries already inoculate children, others have not even begun to vaccinate. We spoke with Basques from the US, Australia, Thailand, Mexico, Colombia and South Africa to find out about their situation.
Asier Rodríguez is a young man from Bilbao who, after a brief stay in South Korea, currently works in Thailand. It is a country of almost 70 million inhabitants where vaccination has only just begun . Only the toilets have been inoculated, mainly with the Chinese vaccine. The Thai authorities have not even authorized the administration of the Pfizer vaccine yet. The country tries to stop citizens through campaigns and with restrictions such as the closure of hotels or curfews. The use of the mask has only been mandatory for two months, although it is not surprising that Thais use it due to the contamination.
In Oceania, the management carried out by Australia and New Zealand are examples that are closely followed due to their low contagion rates. In the case of Australia, Garazi Romero , a young woman from Ordizia who has been a nurse in Sydney for nine months , tells us that Australians have shown a high responsibility in the face of the pandemic. The island has barely registered 30,000 infections since the beginning and has accounted for some 900 deaths. Today, Australians can travel to New Zealand, but if they do it to another country they must quarantine in a hotel paid by them, which does not invite to go abroad. Garazi tells us that what is recommended, citizens soon make it mandatory, something that has been key.
In Colombia , Gorka Egiazu , from Hondarribia, tells us that the situation is quite different. The only vaccination has begun, so it is not uncommon to meet Colombians traveling to the United States to get vaccinated. The hospital situation, especially in the capital, Bogotá, is very complicated. Colombia maintains curfews and quarantines on weekends, intermittently.
María Alonso, from Pasai San Pedro , works with a scholarship in Mexico City. The country has been vaccinating for a long time, although at the moment it has only inoculated 8% of its 127 million inhabitants. María was in Chile before, where she assures that the measures were stricter than in Mexico. In Mexico the use of a mask is mandatory, in addition to the closure of the hotel business at 23:00 at night.
To the north, in the United States , the great world power has gone from being one of the countries with the highest rate of infections to being the country that is vaccinating the fastest. Almost half the population has already received at least one dose, and children are even vaccinated. Nuria Varela has told us from New York .
We finished our tour of the world on the African continent, in South Africa . Despite being one of the most developed countries on the black continent, the rate of vaccination is being slow , especially due to the precariousness of public health. As Saioa Bernarás , from San Sebastian tells us from Cape Town, South Africans are betting on vaccination in private health. Saioa passed the covid, fortunately without major complications.
The fight against covid is leading all countries to do their best, but with different protocols and rhythms.