WASHINGTON, Mar 16, CMC – The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Wednesday urged countries in the Americas, including the Caribbean, to continue focusing on the protection of the most vulnerable, such as the elderly, the immune-compromised, health care workers and other high-risk groups, even as  coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination continues to expand in the region.

“COVID-19 infections and deaths are declining in most of our region, but there are still too many cases and deaths being reported every day – a clear indication that transmission is not yet under control,” said PAHO’s Assistant Director Dr Jarbas Barbosa.

Since the first case of the virus was reported in the Americas two years ago, 149 million cases of COVID-19 have been reported and 2.6 million people have died.

The Assistant Director also warned that the current rise in cases in other regions of the world should serve as “a cautionary tale” for the Americas.

New infections have increased by 28.9 per cent in the Western Pacific region, 12.3 per cent  in the African region, and almost two per cent in the European region.

“The virus puts us all at risk. That’s why we must continue our efforts to close the equity gap and protect the most vulnerable with COVID-19 vaccines.”

Dr Barbosa said that while many countries and territories are on track to reach the WHO 70 per cent COVID-19 vaccination target, and eight have vaccinated more than 80 per cent of their population, 21 have yet to vaccinate half of their population.

“We still have a lot of work ahead to improve our resilience to COVID-19,” he said, noting that the pandemic response has left routine immunisation programmes decades behind, with coverage against polio and measles dropping to 1994 levels.

“COVID-19 showed us, once again, that vaccines are the most important tool to control infectious disease and save lives. Yet, in just two years, we’ve rolled back nearly three decades of progress on polio and measles.”

He said vaccine coverage for other childhood diseases has also fallen further behind, with diphtheria and yellow fever threatening to resurge unless countries take urgent action.

HPV vaccination, which prevents cervical cancer in young women and girls, has also stalled across the region due to school disruptions.

While many countries restarted campaigns against measles, rubella, and polio in 2021, and at least eight countries are planning to do follow-up measles campaigns this year, sustaining high coverage is “essential to securing our children’s future and allowing our region to flourish,” he said.

The Assistant Director called for strong political and technical leadership at national and local levels to raise routine vaccination coverage and urged countries to leverage COVID-19 vaccination efforts to rapidly roll out other essential vaccines, including the influenza vaccine.

“We cannot waste time. We have the experience, tools, and know-how to catch up on missed vaccinations, prevent diseases, and protect our families today and in the future.”

He said PAHO “will work with countries across the region to run coordinated national campaigns during Vaccination Week in the Americas,” and the PAHO Revolving Fund stands ready to “continue to support countries with purchases of routine vaccines”.

Turning to the COVID-19 situation in the region, Dr Barbosa reported that cases in the Americas reached 901,000, a 19 per cent decrease from the previous week.

However, hikes in cases were seen in Caribbean and Atlantic Ocean Islands, where cases increased by 56.6 per cent

Deaths fell by 18.4 per cent to 15,523, with all sub-regions reporting declines – from a 6.9 per cent drop in the Caribbean to a 27.9 per cent decrease in Central America.