RIO DE JANEIRO – Navigating complex waterways to reach remote communities in Brazil’s Amazon is only the first challenge for Waldir Bittencourt, a nurse vaccinating Indigenous and riverine people against COVID-19.
Once there, he has faced something he didn't anticipate: a fear of the vaccine. “It’s a recent phenomenon among Indigenous peoples, stemming from the polarization surrounding the vaccine,” said Bittencourt, 32, who during his eight-year career has been involved in campaigns against tuberculosis, diphtheria and tetanus.
Health professionals like Bittencourt are deploying to far-flung areas in northern Brazil, often traveling for hours on small planes and boats.