PAHO Director reports 728,000 doses will be delivered to five countries in the Americas in coming days.

Washington, D.C., March 17, 2021 (PAHO) – Deliveries of COVID-19 vaccines are picking up speed across the Americas as more countries prepare for the imminent arrival of doses procured through COVAX, the global mechanism for equitable distribution of vaccines, Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Director Carissa F. Etienne reported today.

During her weekly media briefing, Dr. Etienne said that over the next few days, PAHO’s Revolving Fund will deliver 728,000 COVAX-procured COVID-19 vaccines to five regional countries. In total, PAHO has placed orders for more than 3.4 million doses, she said.

“For all these countries – even those which received small donations earlier this month – these COVAX deliveries will enable the start of steady vaccination efforts,” Dr. Etienne said. “We are happy that vaccines through COVAX are being delivered but we recognize that the need for more vaccines and sooner is great in the Americas.”

She said only two vaccine manufacturers are dispatching millions of doses to dozens of countries around the world. “This is a bottleneck that still prevents us from getting vaccines to every country at the same time,” she said. “But shipments will become more regular as more doses are available to COVAX in the next few months.”

The upcoming shipments to five nations follow delivery of 400,000 doses of COVAX-procured vaccines to regional countries, including Peru, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Jamaica. Colombia received COVAX-procured doses through a pilot program earlier this month.

COVAX is a global effort between the Coalition for the Promotion of Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), the Gavi Vaccine Alliance (Gavi), and the World Health Organization (WHO), working in partnership with UNICEF as key implementing partner. In the Americas, the PAHO Revolving Fund is the recognized procurement agent for the COVAX facility. Thirty-six countries in the Americas are participating in COVAX.

With COVID vaccination campaigns underway throughout our region, we’re at the beginning of the end of this pandemic. But while there’s reason for hope, we must also remember that doses are limited, and it will be several months before we can rely on vaccines to control this virus.”

She said that as vaccinations are administered, “our goal must be to save as many lives as possible by prioritizing early doses for those who are at highest risk of infection. The health workers who are treating COVID patients, the elderly and those living with existing conditions must come first.” In total, nearly 1.3 million people were infected with COVID-19 in the Americas in the past week, and almost 31,000 died because of the virus.

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