PAHO: Initial Vaccination in Latam Estimated at $2 Billion

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) reported on Wednesday that vaccinating 20 percent of the population of Latin America and the Caribbean will cost at least $2 billion. This, as the organization works with international partners to guarantee access to low-income countries.

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PAHO Assistant Director Jarbas Barbosa acknowledges that “this is a remarkable figure," but the organization is aware that "it won’t be sufficient to vaccinate everyone, at least not at first.”

The World Health Organization already explained that once the vaccine is approved, health workers and personnel working in the frontline will be prioritized alongside the elders.

The official updated that 28 self-financing countries have joined the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX). Nonetheless, PAHO will work with the Inter-American Development Bank, the European Union, and other financial institutions and donors "to secure the funding needed to bring together the low-income countries" in the region.

However, Barbosa remarked that "only a vaccine that has been proven safe and effective will be approved by the regulators, endorsed by the WHO, and ultimately available through COVAX. So there is still a lot to do."

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been more than 23 million infections in the continent and at least 680.000 deaths.