Peru is scrambling to get access to COVID vaccines as cases spike.
But the Latin American nation is in a tough slot.
The first problem is its relative wealth. Peru is classified by the World Bank as upper middle-income. So it has some money to spend on vaccines but not nearly the financial resources of the U.S., the European Union or even wealthier neighbors like Brazil or Chile. But it s not poor enough to qualify for free doses from COVAX, the global program aimed at assuring equitable access to vaccines.
Peru is now trying to hammer out individual deals with the handful of pharmaceutical companies that currently have vaccine to sell.
7 slides Credit: AFP via Getty Images
In Vaccine Race, Middle Income Nations Are At A Disadvantage. Just Ask Peru. By
Peru is scrambling to get access to COVID vaccines as cases spike.
But the Latin American nation is in a tough slot.
The first problem is its relative wealth. Peru is classified by the World Bank as upper middle-income. So it has some money to spend on vaccines but not nearly the financial resources of the U.S., the European Union or even wealthier neighbors like Brazil or Chile. But it s not poor enough to qualify for free doses from COVAX, the global program aimed at assuring equitable access to vaccines.
Progress in the fight against the coronavirus is coming, but Texas is a long way from herd immunity
Texas Tribune
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The mythic idea of “herd immunity” from COVID-19 in the long journey back to normal may be out of reach for Texas any time soon, state health officials and medical experts say. But while it remains the ultimate goal, they say it isn’t necessary to begin stemming some of the pandemic’s devastating effects in the state.
The state s high percentage of residents under 18, most of whom aren t approved for the vaccine, combined with those who can t or won’t take it for other reasons, means that the state will struggle to immunize enough Texans to halt the chain of transmission and indirectly protect people who are not immune, experts said.
Long lines formed Jan. 11 in Fair Park, where Dallas County opened its first mega vaccination site. Credit: Shelby Tauber for The Texas Tribune
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The mythic idea of herd immunity from COVID-19 in the long journey back to normal may be out of reach for Texas any time soon, state health officials and medical experts say. But while it remains the ultimate goal, they say it isn’t necessary to begin stemming some of the pandemic’s devastating effects in the state.
The mythic idea of herd immunity from COVID-19 in the long journey back to normal may be out of reach for Texas any time soon, state health officials and medical experts say. But while it remains the ultimate goal, they say it isn t necessary to begin stemming some of the pandemic s devastating effects in the state.
The state s high percentage of residents under 18, most of whom aren t approved for the vaccine, combined with those who can t or won t take it for other reasons, means that the state will struggle to immunize enough Texans to halt the chain of transmission and indirectly protect people who are not immune, experts said.