First change: 06.04.2022 – 20:40 Last change: 06.04.2022 – 20:38
WASHINGTON (AFP) – Two hundred and forty million people have not been vaccinated against Covid-19 in America, where cases and deaths from the coronavirus have been falling but the risk of new waves remains, the Pan American Health Organization reported on Wednesday. PAHO).
More than 685 million people in the region have completed the vaccination schedule and 50 countries and territories have already started giving booster doses, which are crucial for people at higher risk of developing a severe form of the disease, the director of reported PAHO, Carissa Etienne held a virtual press conference.
“But the gaps that remain will keep our region at risk in future waves,” as “240 million people in America have not yet received a single dose of the vaccine,” Etienne said.
In recent weeks, cases and deaths from Covid-19 have been falling in most countries and territories in the Americas, but more than 620,000 new cases are still being registered each week and infections are picking up again in some places, such as Canada and the United States United States Caribbean.
These increases come just weeks after flares in Europe and East Asia, when the BA.2 omicron subvariant, already detected in 8.7% of sequences from South America, spread.
The spread of Omicron is driving new waves of Covid-19, partly due to increases in tourism and travel, “and the easing of public health measures”, in some cases “prematurely”, warns Etienne.
In addition to vaccination, the PAHO director warns countries they must continue to monitor the virus to track its spread.
The change in testing strategy, as some countries are doing, “makes it difficult to get a full picture of BA.2,” warns Etienne, who also recommends making decisions “on the basis of the data”.
As travel restrictions have eased, cases have risen in places that rely on tourism, particularly in parts of North America and the Caribbean where vaccination coverage is low, so “it’s important to continue to trust the data” and adjust strategies, concludes he .
© 2022 AFP