As of March 1, 28 countries in the Americas have welcomed the arrival of about 3 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines through the COVAX mechanism, but Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) director Carissa Etienne says stocks are still fall far short of the coverage needed to protect vulnerable groups. According to figures from the PAHO, 49 countries and territories in the Americas have introduced COVID-19 vaccines and delivered more than 210 million doses.
The 210 million includes COVAX supplies and vaccines, purchased through bilateral agreements that countries have signed separately with pharmaceutical companies. The COVAX goal for the Americas is to deliver enough vaccines to cover about 100 million people by the end of 2021, with all countries receiving enough vaccines to vaccinate about 20 percent of their population.
At a recent press conference, Etienne noted that “due to global restrictions on vaccine production, it is difficult for our region to access the vaccines we need to vaccinate our population. Vaccine production for approved COVID19 vaccines must increase globally because none of us will be safe until we are all safe. ”
“Current progress is still far from achieving the coverage needed to protect the most vulnerable groups, about 20 percent of the population, to reduce the high mortality rates in our region,” she added. The PAHO director has called for vaccination in the Americas, the region with the highest number of cases and mortality, to be a global priority.
Countries received deliveries via COVAX from March 1, with the aim of ensuring fair and equitable access for the 36 participating countries in the Americas. These include 26 self-financing countries and ten countries supported by the Gavi COVAX Advance Market Commitment mechanism.
The COVAX Mechanism is a global effort involving CEPI, Gavi, Unicef, PAHO and WHO to ensure fair access to COVID-19 vaccination. The delivery of COVAX vaccines, a historic milestone, was the result of months of negotiations and collaboration between the Ministries of Health, PAHO and other partners. The PAHO Revolving Fund, designated by COVAX, has worked to procure vaccines on behalf of the countries in the Americas.
Worldwide, 674 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered, including approximately 36 million doses, delivered via COVAX to 86 participating countries. “Equality in the distribution of vaccines and giving as many vaccines as possible to as many people as possible is our current goal,” said Etienne, noting that vaccines “are not yet the primary method of delaying the transmission of COVID-19. We must maintain and continue to adapt our public health and social measures in every country. ”
–
