PAHO criticizes delays of the Covax mechanism in the delivery of vaccines in America

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) criticized this Wednesday the delays in the delivery of vaccines in the American continent through Covax, the mechanism supported by the World Health Organization (WHO) to promote the equitable distribution of drugs against COVID-19.

At a press conference, PAHO Deputy Director Jarbas Barbosa regretted that the Covax mechanism “has delivered much smaller amounts than expected” in America, which, according to him, “hinders equitable access in the region.”

The Brazilian doctor exemplified these delays with the case of Peru, which has received 2.5 million inoculations of the 13 million vaccines that it requested from the WHO-supported mechanism.

In his statements, the official explained that this is due to several reasons, such as the fact that vaccine producers “are not prioritizing shipping for the Covax mechanism”, but rather the bilateral agreements they have reached with other countries, since under these agreements “vaccines are more expensive.”

Furthermore, Barbosa said that some 500 million doses are pending delivery due to the Serum Institute of India (SII) export pause, the largest vaccine manufacturer in the world, which has focused on immunizing the population of that country.

In that same press conference, the Director of PAHO, Carissa Etienne, also spoke of the inequality that still exists in the rate of vaccination between North and South American countries with respect to Caribbean and Central American nations, mainly due to the lack of access and skepticism about the effectiveness of vaccines.

There are six countries in the Americas that are of particular concern to PAHO because their vaccination rate is still below 20%: Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Haiti, Guatemala, and Nicaragua.

Despite these regional difficulties, Etienne announced that 41% of the inhabitants of Latin America and the Caribbean have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, a figure that already exceeds the goal set this month by the UN and the WHO to immunize 40% of the world’s population before the end of the year.

Regarding the situation of the pandemic in the Americas, the official assured that the pace is slowing down, despite the fact that Bolivia, Venezuela and some Caribbean nations registered increases in the number of cases and deaths in the last week.

According to PAHO data, the number of infections in America in the last seven days fell to 817,000, compared to the figure of 1.1 million registered during the previous week, while in the same period 18,000 people died, a figure also less than the 24,000 deaths in the previous week.

“Cases and deaths are decreasing in North, Central and South America, with the exceptions of Bolivia and Venezuela,” Etienne pointed out in a virtual press conference, which also highlighted the “serious situation” experienced by some nations in the region. Caribbean, such as the Dominican Republic and Barbados.

To improve this context, Etienne recommended that the population of those countries strictly follow public health regulations, such as the use of masks and social distancing, and avoid concentrations where many people go.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, 92 million people have been infected in the Americas, while more than 2.2 million have lost their lives, according to PAHO data. (I)