The World Health Organization (WHO) and its branch for the Americas, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), have a call to the countries to continue testing and thus detect the presence of covid-19 and be able to sequence it.
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The director of PAHO, Carissa Etienne, explained at a press conference that it is essential to continue carrying out tests to avoid “entering the next wave blindly”, given that some countries have changed their covid-19 testing strategies, making it more difficult to get the full picture of variants in the region.
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“In recent weeks, many countries and territories in the Americas have reduced public health measures, and some have done so prematurely,” said the PAHO director, noting that cases have recently increased in places that depend on tourism, especially in parts of North America and the Caribbean, where vaccination coverage is low.
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For their part, the WHO scientists recalled in their weekly epidemiological bulletin that “the risk of the appearance of new variants, including recombinant ones (two variants of the same strain), remains very high”, and they agreed with Etienne that the Sampling, sequencing and data sharing between States remain “essential” to understand the functioning of Sars-CoV-2 and its variants in the region.
In recent weeks, many countries and territories in the Americas have reduced public health measures, and some have done so prematurely.
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It has been reported that in most countries and territories of the Americas cases and deaths from covid-19 have decreased in recent weeks, but the risk of new spikes cannot be ignored as restrictions are relaxed. In this regard, Etienne recalled that “over and over again, we have seen how the dynamics of the infection in Europe is reflected here, just a few weeks later.” In fact, the BA.2 omicron variant has already been detected in 8.7 percent of sequences reported from South America.
According to data available to the Organization, in the Caribbean and North America, omicron is becoming the predominant variant. Along with the increase in tourism, travel, and the relaxation of public health measures, the circulation of this variant is driving the new waves of covid-19 that are being seen in certain parts of the world.
Etienne mentioned that the risk of new waves of covid-19 in other parts of the region cannot be ignored and asked to face them in a united way, “with caution, but also with confidence, because now we know what is needed to protect the population”.
Among what is necessary, he pointed out, in the first place, to continue covering the vaccination gaps to protect the most vulnerable. The elderly and immunosuppressed remain the people most likely to be hospitalized following a covid-19 infection. “Ómicron has made it very clear that vaccines are our best bet to protect them, and everyone else, from serious diseases and save lives,” said the PAHO director.
Currently, more than 685 million people in the Americas have completed their vaccination schedule against covid-19 and 50 countries have begun to provide additional doses and boosters to certain specific populations.
(Also read: Infections and deaths from covid drop 20% in a week globally)
“However, the loopholes that still exist will keep our region at risk during future waves. Despite all our efforts, and the efforts of the Member States, 240 million people in the Americas have not yet received a single injection of the covid-19 vaccine.Étienne pointed out.
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