Two centers in Brazil and Argentina will become regional hubs to develop and manufacture mRNA-based vaccines to combat the spread of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases across Latin America, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said.PAHO has announced the selection of two centers in Argen ..
The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Wednesday reported that less than 20% of people in Latin America and the Caribbean have been fully immunized against COVID-19 and announced actions will be taken to reverse that situation.
Americas Hits 2 Million COVID-19 Deaths: PAHO
By The Associated Press
PAHO Director Carissa F. Etienne made the announcement during a weekly pandemic briefing.
Etienne said some 15,000 Indigenous people were included in the figure, but added more “robust” data was needed to identify the true impact on Indigenous communities.
“It is likely that many more have been infected and many more have died but we may not know it because they have struggled to get the COVID care that they deserve,” she said.
The organization has said only 18 percent of people in Latin America and the Caribbean have so far received a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
On Wednesday, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said it was offering detailed information on the safety of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine in Venezuela and Haiti so that they reconsider their decision.
The Chilean government has vaccinated more of its population than any other country in the Americas, exceeding even the vaccination rate of the United States. It has already vaccinated approximately 35 percent of its population. Only four other nations have vaccinated a larger percentage of its population: Bhutan, the United Arab Emirates, Seychelles and Israel. (Related: “Breakthrough” coronavirus cases still being reported, some even dying despite being fully vaccinated.)
But the country’s mass inoculation campaign has not saved it from a recent surge in coronavirus cases, which have doubled in the country and in other neighboring South American nations during the past few weeks. The country’s intensive care units are running at 95 percent occupancy.