PAHO: record COVID-19 infections, but deaths do not skyrocket in the Americas

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) stated that he expects omicron to become the predominant variable in the coming weeks COVID-19 in the Americas, where coronavirus cases have registered record levels in recent days.

PAHO added that, although health systems face challenges with an increase in hospitalizations, vaccination has helped prevent deaths from coronavirus from increasing at the same rate as infections.

“While delta is still causing new infections in the Americas, based on our current trends, omicron is on its way to becoming the dominant variant in our region,” said PAHO Director Carissa Etienne.

To date, the global number of patients has reached 300 million since the pandemic began in March 2020, just over a third of them in the Americas. The region has recorded almost as many as the 5.4 million deaths worldwide.

In the Americas, infections almost doubled in the last week: from 3.4 million on January 1 to 6.1 million on January 8, according to PAHO. Compared to the same period of the previous year, when 2.4 million cases were registered, the increase was 250%.

In the first week of 2022, deaths in the Americas increased 31% compared to the previous week, according to the agency.

The omicron variant, which spreads more easily, has already been detected in 42 of the 56 countries and territories of the Americas.

Omicron can infect vaccinated people and those already sick with the virus, but some studies show that it is less likely to cause more severe infections than delta, and that immunization and booster doses offer strong protection against severe illness. hospitalization and death.

The United States is reporting the most cases, while Canada is also seeing an uptick. In the Caribbean, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic have the largest increases, and in Central America, Belize and Panama do so.

In South America, meanwhile, Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru and Brazil also register increases in patients, and in Brazil there is an increase in hospitalizations. In Argentina and Paraguay, for example, coronavirus infections have increased 300% in the last week, according to PAHO.

Etienne said that at least 17 countries and territories have seen an increase of more than 2% in hospital admissions, including in intensive care units, compared to the previous week. The Caribbean and Central America have been the scene of the greatest increase.

“We are also concerned that several of the countries and territories experiencing these largest increases in daily hospitalizations are those with the lowest (vaccination) coverage among the eligible population,” said the director of the regional public health organization. .

Although ómicron can cause milder illnesses, PAHO warned that it can also be lethal among the unvaccinated and immunocompromised people. For this reason, he urged countries to continue with their vaccination campaigns and sanitary measures, including the use of masks, distancing, ventilation of closed environments and frequent hand washing, among others.

Until now, almost 60% of the population of Latin America and the Caribbean has been fully vaccinated, but some ten countries in the region —especially in the Caribbean— have not reached the goal of 40% set by the World Health Organization (WHO). ) by the end of 2021. That goal is 70% by the middle of this year.