Warns that delivery of COVID-19 vaccines to the US has been delayed, the director of the Pan-American Health Organization, Dr Carissa F Etienne, urges countries to use a “comprehensive strategy” to not only immunize but also social measures to curb the rising pandemic.
“I cannot stress this enough – for most countries, vaccines are not going to stop the wave of the pandemic,” Etienne said during her weekly media conference today.
“There is simply not enough available to protect everyone in the countries at greatest risk.”
‘Therefore, we must stop shipping in any way possible with the tools at our disposal. It will require comprehensive strategies to accelerate the explosion of vaccines and control the virus using proven public health measures, ”she added, referring to the wearing of masks, social distance and hand hygiene.
Since March, PAHO’s Revolving Fund has helped deliver more than three million doses of COVAX vaccines in 28 countries.
The Revolving Fund negotiates, buys and arranges logistics for shipping vaccines to the 36 COVAX participating countries.
To date, more than 247 million COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in the United States, including by countries made individually with vaccine manufacturers.
But over the past few weeks, Etienne has said that restrictions on COVAX vaccine producers have delayed delivery, and that supplies are expected to normalize in a few more weeks.
“Meanwhile, we cannot rely on vaccines to control the transmission,” she said.
“PAHO is committed to working with member states to ensure more vaccine doses for our region as soon as it is available to supplement what countries have already acquired through bilateral transactions and through the COVAX facility,” she said.
Etienne warned that the pandemic was still growing in the Americas.
In the past week, more than 1.3 million people have been infected with the virus and nearly 36,000 people have died from the disease.
“Since the pandemic began, 57 million cases have been reported in the Americas, with more than 1.3 million deaths,” she said.
“We are not acting like a region in the midst of a worse outbreak,” Etienne warned.
“Despite continued shipping in many places, restrictions have eased. Crowds are back, and people gather indoors and take public transport, often without masks, ”she continued.
She said that new, highly transferable variants also accelerate.
Etienne described South America as the continuing ‘epicenter’, saying new COVID-19 cases were on the rise in Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Peru and some parts of Bolivia.
Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina and Chile are experiencing a steady increase in infections.
New variants in the Guyanas led to an increase in cases in French Guiana and Guyana.
New infections are on the rise in Cuba, Puerto Rico and smaller Caribbean islands such as Curacao, Bermuda and Aruba. Business is also still growing in Canada.
Meanwhile, Etienne has tried to provide assurance on the safety of the four vaccines authorized by the WHO – the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine, two versions of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine and the Janssen vaccine. Everyone has proven that they are safe and effective. Rare blood clot reports are being reviewed by regulatory agencies, which are expected to make recommendations soon, she said.
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