NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Structural inequities in health and disparities in coronavirus vaccine availability in the region have resulted in unequal distribution of infections and deaths, according to a Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and Economic Commission for Latin American and the Caribbean (ECLAC) report.
“The unequal distribution and global asymmetry between developed and developing countries mean that, as of September 2021, barely 30 percent of the region’s population had been fully vaccinated,” read the report released yesterday.
“It is thus all the more important to ensure that provision of essential health services in the midst of a prolonged pandemic, where mass vaccination is one of the main challenges countries must overcome in order to bring the pandemic under control, [is] supported by social protection and public health measures.”
The report underscored the need for transformation of health systems based on primary healthcare, with universal health as a guiding principle; strengthening of health authorities’ institutional capacities; and forging a resilient health system that is capable of responding to current and future challenges.
Pointing to the disproportionate impact to the region based on its size, the report noted that with just 8.4 percent of the global population, Latin American and the Caribbean region accounted for 20 percent of infections in the world and 30 percent of all deaths caused by the virus.
In The Bahamas, there have been nearly 22,000 infections and more than 600 deaths, with another 43 under investigation.
While infections represent less than one percent of the population, asymptomatic carriers are believed to account for a greater number of cases, unbeknown.
At last report, just over 115,000 people had been fully vaccinated, representing around 38 percent of the eligible population to become vaccinated, and around 29 percent of The Bahamas’ estimated total population.
More than 238,000 doses of COVID vaccines have been administered.
PAHO Director Dr Carissa Etienne has said the prospects of overcoming the crisis remain unclear due to low vaccination levels in many countries and the challenges associated with maintaining social and public health measures at sufficient levels.
Vaccine shortages have continued to plague the region and resulted in the interruption of vaccination campaigns at varying points of the pandemic.
“This shortage is associated, on one hand, with the region’s heavy reliance on imports of both medicines and the raw materials involving the development of health technologies and, on the other, with the fact that the vast majority of high-income countries have been hoarding the relatively scarce supply of COVID-19 vaccines,” read the report.
“The vulnerability became critical when unilateral supply disruptions were imposed by several international suppliers during the first half of 2020.”
The Bahamas’ vaccine supply has been dwindling — for a second time since the rollout of vaccines in March.
However, health officials do not foresee an interruption in the vaccination campaign, with around 57,000 doses of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine expected to arrive in the country early next month.
As of October 23, second doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine will not be offered, according to the Ministry of Health, which noted that Pfizer will be made available as a second dose instead.
