75% of the population in Latin America and the Caribbean still unvaccinated
The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has made another clarion call to the residents of Latin America and the Caribbean to get vaccinated amid the emergence of new coronavirus variants.
PAHO Director Carissa F. Etienne warned in a weekly briefing that 75% of the population in Latin America and the Caribbean has yet to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. “More than a third of countries in our region have yet to vaccinate 20% of their populations. And in some places, coverage is much lower,” she said.
A total of 540 million COVID-19 vaccine doses are needed to cover at least 60% of the populations in the region’s countries. “So we must expand vaccine access in our region, especially in the places that are lagging,” Dr. Etienne said.
PAHO is now accelerating its drive to expand vaccine access throughout the region, but challenges to administering the shots to the residents remain.
Political conflicts and fragile healthcare systems in Haiti and Venezuela have made immunizations delayed.
In Haiti, PAHO has disseminated 27 tons of medicines as well as several specialists to support field coordination, epidemiological surveillance, health cluster coordination, emergency projects, logistics, and EMT coordination.
Meanwhile, vaccination rates remain in the teens in several Caribbean and South American countries.
To address the shortage, PAHO has launched a fresh drive for donations. “We are working to draw the attention of developed countries to the urgent need to donate vaccines to Latin America and the Caribbean,” Dr. Etienne said.
Aside from this, PAHO is using its Revolving Fund to procure vaccines for member states. A total of 24 countries has sent their requests to PAHO for COVID-19 vaccines, to be made available in the final quarter of this year and in 2022.
Dr. Etienne has also revealed “a new platform that convenes partners around a shared vision of boosting state-of-the-art vaccine production in Latin America and the Caribbean,” where it will facilitate the transfer to the region of the mRNA vaccine technology used in highly effective COVID-19 vaccines. PAHO has received 32 proposals from private and public companies who are willing to participate in this endeavor.
Finally, Dr. Etienne urged countries to prioritize the most vulnerable for vaccination, such as the elderly, health workers and those living with pre-existing conditions. Countries should make sure that logistics systems can absorb vaccine doses and cold chains can keep them cool and that health systems are ready to deliver doses fast once they arrive.