PAHO: 36 Latam Countries To Receive COVID-19 Vaccines

Over 35.3 million doses of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine will be delivered to 36 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean through the COVAX scheme, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) reported on Monday.

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According to the organization, at least 500 million people need to be immunized in the region. Nonetheless, "the goal is to provide vaccines to at least 20% of the population of each country participating in the COVAX mechanism to protect those at higher risk of presenting severe forms of COVID-19," the PAHO explained in the statement.

The participant countries, including Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, British Virgin Islands, Jamaica, Mexico, Montserrat, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Dominican Republic, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Lucia, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, and Venezuela, will receive the first doses "as of the second half of February and throughout the second quarter of 2021."

However, the organization points out that the AstraZeneca vaccine is still under review by the World Health Organization for emergency use approval, "which is expected to occur in the next few days," PAHO said.