In Colombia, vulnerable indigenous communities in the Amazon region are among the priority groups for COVID-19 vaccination. In the riverside settlement of Paujil Indigenous reserve, health teams go door-to-door to vaccinate as many eligible community residents as possible.
As of 5 April 2021, more than 2.4 million COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in Colombia, resulting in almost 64 000 deaths in the country. Colombian authorities are addressing the challenge of reaching out to remote indigenous communities, some of which are only accessible by air or by river.
On 1 March 2021, Colombia became the first country in the Americas to receive COVID-19 vaccines through the COVAX Facility, marking an historic step toward the goal of ensuring equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines in the region and worldwide. The COVAX vaccines add to the vaccination campaign that the Colombian government started on February 17, with doses obtained from bilateral agreements with the producers.
COVAX, the vaccines pillar of the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, is co-led by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and WHO working in partnership with developed and developing country vaccine manufacturers, UNICEF, PAHO Revolving Fund, the World Bank, and others. It is the only global initiative that is working with governments and manufacturers to ensure COVID-19 vaccines are available worldwide to both higher-income and lower-income countries-WHO











