COVID-19 pandemic continues to be a threat in the Americas, warns PAHO

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) warned that the COVID-19 pandemic “remains a threat” in the Americas region despite the decline in infections and deaths.

In the last week, new infections fell 26% and deaths almost 19% in the Americas. But two years after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a pandemic for the coronavirus disease, the danger remains.

“The pandemic is still a threat today. In the first two months of 2022 alone, 63% of new global cases have been reported in the Americas”, said Carissa Etienne, director of PAHO, WHO regional office, at a virtual press conference.

Etienne recalled that the recent wave of cases caused by the omicron variant of the new coronavirus left more than 220,000 dead in the American continent, with record numbers of new infections in Brazil, the United States and Chile.

“We all want the pandemic to end, but optimism alone cannot control the virus. It’s too soon to let your guard down”, he stressed, calling for the application of public health measures, such as the use of masks and social distancing, in places of high transmission. “Ómicron still exists and this pandemic is unpredictable”, he recalled.

This strain, the fifth variant of concern designated by the WHO since the appearance of the new coronavirus reported in China in late 2019 (after alpha, beta, gamma and delta), has generally caused less severe cases, but transmissibility has been much older.

Etienne highlighted that of the more than 6 million deaths left by the pandemic in the world so far, 2.6 million correspond to the Americas, which reported the highest number of deaths from COVID-19 than any other region on the planet.

“Almost half of all deaths globally occurred in the Americas, despite the fact that our region is home to less than 13% of the people worldwide“, said.

And according to Etienne, the effects of the pandemic will be felt in the long term. Among them, he mentioned lifelong consequences for some COVID-19 survivors, the impact on the mental health of the population, with high rates of depression and anxiety, especially among women and young people, and interruptions in essential health services.

He also highlighted the exacerbated inequalities in a region marked by inequity, particularly in access to the COVID-19 vaccine.

“In Latin America and the Caribbean, around 248 million people have not yet received their first dose of the vaccine, and these gaps are concentrated in rural areas with difficult access or underserved areasEtienne said.

AND “only 14 countries achieved coverage of 70% of their population with a complete vaccination schedule”.