2020 closed with 22 million more poor people due to covid 0:49
(CNN) -
For eight consecutive weeks, the total number of covid-19 cases in American countries has decreased, according to the deputy director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Jarbas Barbosa, on Wednesday.
During the last week, more than 745,000 cases of covid-19 and a little more than 18,000 deaths from the disease were reported on the continent.
North American countries - the United States, Mexico and Canada - reported a drop in weekly cases and deaths, Barbosa said.
There have been similar declines in Central and South America.
After weeks of a persistent outbreak in Belize, there is a nearly 20% decrease in cases and a 60% decrease in deaths, he added.
Cases and deaths are trending downward or stable across much of the Caribbean, Barbosa said, but Barbados continues to report its highest number of covid-19 cases and deaths since the pandemic began, and there is capacity shortage. hospital in the Dominican Republic and Trinidad and Tobago.
"The decrease in cases and deaths shows that our approach is working and it is essential for everyone to stay on track until everyone is vaccinated and protected from the virus," said the PAHO official.
advertising
Children in Latin America: what is the minimum age to receive the covid-19 vaccine?
Vaccination against covid-19 in the region
Barbosa said that 46% of the population in Latin America and the Caribbean had been fully vaccinated, and at least 32 countries had already reached the WHO goal of 40% vaccination coverage, and several more are on track to reach it and get over it, by the end of this year.
Countries like Haiti, Nicaragua, Jamaica, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Guatemala still have vaccination coverage below 20%.
In some countries, vaccine doses have reached all levels of the population before a high percentage of vulnerable groups are fully immunized, according to Barbosa, adding that PAHO urges countries to prioritize the elderly, the frontline workers and people with pre-existing conditions.
Increased stress and depression due to covid-19 1:22
About the booster dose against covid-19
Barbosa said that the most vulnerable should be protected when vaccine availability is low and that once those most at risk are protected, a larger percentage of the adult population should be vaccinated, and then vaccinated. to younger groups.
"We have no evidence at this time that vaccinating students should be a prerequisite for reopening schools," Barbosa said.
PAHO currently recommends providing an additional dose of the vaccine only to immunosuppressed people, regardless of the vaccine they have received, such as cancer patients, HIV-positive people, and transplant recipients, as well as those over 60 years of age who received the vaccines from Sinovac or Sinopharm.
"These people need an additional dose to be protected from serious diseases and the risk of dying from covid-19," said Barbosa, "Their vaccination cannot be considered complete until they have received the third dose."
Barbosa said that "there is still not enough evidence to recommend the booster vaccine for other groups that are fully immunized, especially when the availability of the vaccine is limited and many in our regions have not yet received their first injection."
Covid-19 Coronavirus Vaccine