Now that the region has “enough vaccines to protect everyone, even the most vulnerable,” it’s time to “turn vaccines into immunity,” the PAHO executive said. For the eighth consecutive week, the number of COVID-19 cases in the Pan American region continues to rise, said Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) director Carissa Etienne.
She calls on countries to step up their efforts to reach the World Health Organization (WHO) target of a 70% vaccination coverage by mid-2022. Last week, countries in the region reported more than 1.2 million new cases of COVID-19, up 11 percent from the week before. “Thanks to the efforts of donors and national governments, we now have the supplies and financial and technical support to help countries meet the 70 percent target,” the director said at a news conference yesterday.
Priority
“Our priority now must be turning vaccines into immunity, making sure the doses we have get into people’s arms and saving lives.” But while 16 countries and territories in the region have already vaccinated 70 percent of the eligible population, closely following Colombia, Bermuda and El Salvador at 65 percent, 11 other countries have yet to reach 40 percent vaccination coverage.
Since the inception of COVAX in 2021, PAHO’s Revolving Fund has delivered more than 142 million vaccines to countries in the Pan American region, and through the efforts of donors and governments, the region now has the financial and technical support it needs to help all countries. help achieve the 70 percent target, says Etienne.
It is therefore “critical that countries redouble their efforts to protect those most at risk,” she added, including the elderly and people with reduced immunity, health professionals and pregnant women. To do this, they need to align their efforts with ongoing concerns about vaccines and work with communities to develop strategies in areas where coverage is poor.
As some countries begin to downsize local vaccination centers, such as those in grocery stores, schools and local marketplaces, Etienne urged governments to continue to use resources wisely and try to reach the people where they are.
Emerging risks
“The COVID-19 pandemic is not a short-term problem,” the PAHO director said. And as PAHO’s latest research on essential health services shows that routine immunizations have been severely disrupted by the pandemic, it is vital that countries integrate COVID vaccination into their national immunization programs “so that we have robust services to provide routine vaccines, expand COVID coverage and better prepare for future emergencies.”
Etienne also stressed that the recent cases of monkeypox and acute hepatitis underscore the need to build more resilient health systems that can respond quickly to new and emerging risks. To ensure this, PAHO is working to support and train healthcare providers to help reduce the shortage of 600,000 health workers in the region.
“It is now time for countries to take everything we have learned from responding to the pandemic and commit to investing in stronger, more resilient health systems,” she said. As for the COVID-19 situation in the region, in North America cases are up 71 percent in the past week in Mexico and the United States reported a 2 percent increase in hospitalizations and an increase in ICU numbers withdrawals by 4.2 percent.
South America reported a 20 percent increase in cases, while in the Caribbean, new infections increased by 3.7 percent. Central America was the only sub-region to report a downward trend, with a 32 percent drop in COVID-19 cases and a 36 percent drop in deaths.
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