According to the Pan American Health Organization, (PAHO) 750 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccines have been administered across member countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Dr. Carissa Etienne, Director of PAHO, stated that the figure indicates full immunization of around half of the population in these states. Nearly 3.5 million extra doses of COVID-19 vaccines are expected to arrive in the region this week, allowing the organization to reach even more people, she said.
Meanwhile, Dr. Jarbas Barbosa da Silva Jr., Assistant Director, said that the 750 million doses provided included both single-dose and double-dose Johnson and Johnson vaccines. On Wednesday, November 17 both spoke at PAHO’s weekly COVID-19 digital media briefing. According to Dr. Etienne, despite the large number of vaccinations given, several countries are still far behind in terms of coverage.
“Less than 20 percent of people have been fully vaccinated in Guatemala, Jamaica, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and vaccination coverage remains in single digits in Nicaragua and Haiti,” she noted.
Meanwhile, COVID-19 case counts continue to fluctuate across the Americas, according to Dr. Etienne. She observed that following weeks of dropping trends, some of the world’s most populated countries, such as the United States, Brazil, and Colombia, are experiencing a leveling of new infections.
She said that in Canada, cases and hospitalisations continue to drop, while in the Caribbean, the Dominican Republic and Barbados are reporting a steady rise in new infections.
