As vaccine rollout nears, many concerns raised in Latin America, hard hit by COVID-19 Patrick J. McDonnell, Kate Linthicum
In Latin America, a region hard hit by pandemic, poverty and flawed healthcare systems, many experts fear that large-scale coronavirus immunization campaigns could prove a logistical nightmare, even as vaccinations are set to begin.
Home to 8.4% of the global population, Latin America and the Caribbean account for 30% of the world’s 1.6 million COVID-19 deaths and 19% of the 76 million COVID-19 infections, according to data from Johns Hopkins University and the World Bank.
Mexico and Chile plan to start inoculating health workers by month s end with the vaccine developed by U.S.-based Pfizer Inc. and its German partner, BioNTech, which is already in use in the United States and Britain. Other Latin American countries are unveiling ambitious plans for large-scale immunization campaigns employing varying vaccines, most still in the testing st