PAHO Expresses Gratitude For Upcoming COVID-19 Vaccines

• Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Director Dr. Carissa F. Etienne praised the Government of the United States on the imminent delivery of millions of doses of COVID-19 vaccines to countries in the Caribbean and Latin America in the coming days though COVAX. The PAHO Revolving Fund is facilitating these deliveries in close collaboration with recipient country governments. 
• “Latin America and the Caribbean are the epicenter of this pandemic globally, and donations like these are the most effective path to get vaccines that are unavailable through the market to the arms of people that desperately need them now.” 
• “We are advocating for access to vaccine donations through COVAX and directly,” added Dr. Etienne. “Working with the COVAX Facility, governments, producers and other partners, we have been able to deliver more than 21 million doses to 31 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, but the reality is that we still face a glaring gap in access to vaccines”.
• In addition to the U.S., the Director has also thanked the government of Spain for donating 5 million COVID-19 vaccine doses for the region, as well as the government of Canada for its $50 million Canadian dollars commitment to expand access to COVID-19 vaccines in the region. 
• Countries in Latin America and the Caribbean are consistently reporting some of the highest case counts in cases and deaths around the world, with hospitals at their limit. Only just around 11% of the entire population of the Caribbean and Latin America combined have completed their vaccination schedule, with some countries still not being able to vaccinate more than 1% of their populations. Therefore, additional donations of vaccine doses will help countries in the region, including Jamaica, to inoculate more of their population and ease restrictions and bolster greater commercial activity.

(Source: PAHO)