On a drizzly day just before Christmas, Dr Yineth Agudelo-Zapata went about her rounds in Medellin General’s Hospital’s Covid-19 wing. The old building, recommissioned specifically for coronavirus patients, is a looming embodiment of the pandemic’s impact on Colombia. 

When I visited, the brightly lit halls and waiting rooms were empty, but the wards were nearing their 150-bed capacity. According to Johns Hopkins statistics, Colombia has, to date, confirmed over 2.2 million Covid-19 cases and about 58,000 related deaths. That’s more than one fatality for every 1,000 people, a per capita rate only slightly lower than hotspots such as the U.S., Spain and Mexico. 

Medellin, a city of over two million, remains one of the worst-hit areas in Colombia. To date, its three biggest municipalities have recorded over 234,000 cases and over 4,100 dead since the virus first arrived in March 2020.

Like many places, Colombia has been deluged with coronavirus-related misinformation, from both foreign and domestic sources. But experts say that a longstanding tradition of home remedies and folk medicine, plus the widespread off-label use of over-the-counter medications makes it more vulnerable to disinformation than other countries. What is more, many believe that these factors have complicated the official response to the crisis and that they could possibly damage the planned national vaccine rollout.