Chinese jab greeted as 'salvation' in indigenous Mexican village

ACAXOCHITLAN, Mexico－Leocadia Longino, an elderly resident of an indigenous mountain village in the central Mexican state of Hidalgo, gazes at a dam outside her home as she recounts how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected her business and aroused fear in her community.

The tree-lined banks of the dam, with its crystal-clear waters, in Santa Ana Tzacuala, a village nestled in Sierra Otomi-Tepehua, used to attract visitors who loved the trout cooked by her small family-run restaurant.

The dam has been empty since the pandemic broke out in Mexico early last year, resulting in the restaurant's sales plummeting by half.

The dam "is our livelihood", said the 67-year-old, adding that the lives of the villagers in the municipality of Acaxochitlan have been greatly affected by the pandemic.

However, her hopes for the future were reignited after she was vaccinated against COVID-19. The vaccine, developed by Chinese pharmaceutical firm Sinovac Biotec, was distributed by the Mexican government to poor communities. Older people were among the priority groups after vaccinations got underway with the arrival of the first batch in February.

'A new life'

The first day of vaccinations in the village drew dozens of older people, some arriving at the site with canes.

"The vaccine is a new life, a new salvation," said Longino, expressing her gratitude for China in providing the vaccines to them.

The Mexican government sent supplies of the vaccine to members of the indigenous Nahuatl, Otomi and Tepehua communities in six municipalities in eastern Hidalgo as part of its pandemic-fighting strategy to prioritize the poor in high-risk groups.

The Sinovac vaccine helps to save lives by facilitating vaccination in rural areas, since doses can be stored in normal refrigerators, said Abraham Mendoza, the federal government's delegate for development programs in Hidalgo.

Alejandro Lopez, head councilor of Acaxochitlan, described the vaccine as a "light of hope" amid the health and economic ravages of COVID-19.

"We appreciate the support the Chinese people are giving us and we recognize the work they are doing. We recognize the nobility they have for humanity," said Lopez, adding that Chinese people not only developed the vaccine but are sharing it.

Xinhua