Will non-citizens be vaccinated against Covid in Guatemala has been a question that has been discussed so much over the past few months. Not all non-citizens living in Guatemala wish are are able to return to their own country. In the first 6 weeks of vaccination, only 0.75% of the population have been vaccinated. Sadly, in the Latin America vaccination league, Guatemala is fourth from bottom! Guatemala is reliant on the Covax vaccination program setup by the World Health Organization (WHO). Their aim is to ensure that 20% of the world’s poorest nations populations receive Covid vaccinations paid by the richer nations. The theory’s great but until the richer nations have had their populations vaccinated, country’s like Guatemala will need to wait.
Sorry, I still haven’t answered the question to whether non-citizens be vaccinated against Covid in Guatemala
I can confirm that if you have permanent residency in Guatemala you are entitled to free Covid vaccination by the Ministry of Health. As you can see below Guatemala is vaccinating by phases. I can report that phases 2a is about to begin and will get into full flow when the promised shipment of Sputnik V vaccine lands from Russia. So if you are over 70 years of age or over 50 with an underlying serious health condition you can register online with the Ministry of Health . You enter your DPI (CUI) and follow the instructions. A good friend of mine who is over 70 did this last week without a problem and is now waiting for his vaccination date.
Will Non-citizens without Guatemalan residency be vaccinated against Covid in Guatemala?
For those of those of you living in Guatemala without residency, obtaining a vaccine appears to be somewhat complicated. I have heard two of instances where non-residents were refused vaccines. In both cases they were working in organisations that deal with medical patients. I believe that the reason for this is simply because the system only accepts the DPI and cannot be manually overridden. I contacted the British Embassy and was told that they have been in communication with the Guatemalan authorities and were told that non-residents will be offered the vaccine. Well, I guess it’s just a waiting game. If you’re hoping that the embassies here in Guatemala will be offering their citizens vaccines then I think you’ll be out of luck. But it’s definitely worth a try!
