The complete vaccination rate against COVID-19 reached 39% in Latin America and the Caribbean, the Pan American Health Organization indicated on Wednesday (OPS), which sounded the alarm on the nations furthest behind.
Six countries in the region do not reach 20% of their immunized population, Carissa Etienne, PAHO Director, said at a press conference.
These are Guatemala and Nicaragua, in Central America; and Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, in the Caribbean.
In these nations, vaccination against COVID-19 it was limited by an uneven distribution of doses and specific problems.
In Guatemala, for example, the shortage of syringes delayed immunization campaigns, while in Haiti logistical difficulties weigh. In addition, throughout the Caribbean, the reluctance of people to get vaccinated remains very high, according to PAHO.
Etienne considered it “encouraging” that 26 of the 51 countries and territories in the Americas already have 40% or more of their population immunized against the coronavirus.
But he insisted that some will need “special attention” to vaccinate 40% of their inhabitants by the end of the year, a goal launched last week by the World Health Organization (WHO).
“We must work together and support each other so that all the countries of the Americas can achieve or exceed” that goal, Etienne said.
PAHO indicated that registered infections and deaths are generally decreasing in the Americas region, with peaks in some countries.