—-calls for vaccination campaigns that focus on protecting the most vulnerable
As cases of COVID-19 surge in Europe and East Asia due to Omicron BA.2, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Director Carissa F. Etienne has urged countries to remain vigilant and urgently close vaccination gaps.
While COVID cases and deaths have dropped across much of the region, countries have reported more than 620,000 new cases each week. And in parts of North America and the Caribbean, where Omicron is becoming the predominant variant, new infections are beginning to rise. With Omicron BA.2 already detected in 8.7% of sequences reported from South America, “time and time again, we’ve seen how the infection dynamics in Europe are mirrored here just a few weeks later,” the Director said in a media briefing on Wednesday.
“We cannot ignore the risk of further COVID-19 surges,” she added. But we now “know what it takes to protect our people.” However, with 240 million people in the Americas yet to receive a single shot of COVID-19 vaccine, vaccination gaps “will keep our region at risk during future waves.”
While more than 685 million people in the region have completed their COVID vaccination schedules, and 50 countries and territories have already begun to deliver booster doses, we must now “redouble our efforts to ensure that our vulnerable populations receive the doses they need,” as soon as possible, Dr. Etienne said. The PAHO Director also urged countries to keep testing capacity in place “so we do not go into this next wave blind,” and have the full picture of Omicron BA.2 in the region.
“This means making tests easily accessible for everyone everywhere, to prevent new outbreaks and to prepare our health systems if cases surge,” she added.
Dr. Etienne also warned that some countries and territories have scaled back public health measures prematurely, highlighting that data “is our eyes and ears into this pandemic.” “Just as we did before, we must adjust our strategies when cases rise, to save lives.” With countries due to mark World Health Day on the 7th April under the theme “Our Planet, Our Health”, the PAHO Director also highlighted the urgent need for countries to work together towards a healthier, more sustainable future.
With an increase in temperatures, air pollution and extreme weather events, “it is undeniable that climate change has presented significant threats to our region’s health,” the Director said. Health systems are also under threat as many hospitals were build in places vulnerable to floods, hurricanes, landslides and other extreme events. “We are working to address this throughout the Region, but we all need to move faster,” added Dr. Etienne. “Health system resilience is not just a necessity to overcome COVID, it is an investment for our future.”
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education is finalising plans to roll out a vaccination campaign across the country. The ministry will be celebrating World Vaccination Week from April 24 to 30. Minister, Dr. Frank Anthony said special emphasis will be placed on COVID-19, Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination and standard immunisation for children under five years old. “We are finalising those plans with the Ministry of Education. We hope to finalise them during next week and once that is done, we will start rolling out the plan,” the minister said during Wednesday’s COVID-19 Update.
This initiative is also expected to boost the uptick of Covid vaccination for adolescents, as well as provide more information to the public about the US-made Pfizer vaccine. “So, we have several groups that we’re targeting, we want to of course increase our COVID-19 vaccination rates during this period so we’ll be running some special campaigns to make sure that we can encourage more people to come out and get vaccinated,” Dr. Anthony said.
The health ministry continues to encourage and educate citizens about the importance of the COVID-19 vaccines, however, there is still hesitancy among the population. As of today, 85.5 percent of the adult population took the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine while 65.8 percent is fully vaccinated. Also, Dr. Anthony said, “during that week we also want to get more people or school age persons to take the HPV vaccination so we’ll be doing a separate campaign encouraging people to take HPV vaccination… “We’re also going to focus our attention on the under-fives, so children who need other types of vaccines…we want to make sure they have received those vaccines.” Minister Anthony said while the country’s positive cases continue to decrease, the pandemic is not over in Guyana. Currently there are 95 active cases with 14 persons hospitalised.
