Pan-American Health Organization officials say covid infections continue to surge throughout the Americas, with more than 1.3 million new cases and 37,000 deaths reported in the region in the last week while cases rise in nearly every country in South America.
Pan-American Health Organization Director Dr. Carissa Etienne said today that in areas of Bolivia and Colombia, cases have doubled in the last week, and all four countries in the southern cone have been experiencing an acceleration in covid-19 cases, with uninterrupted community transmission in recent weeks.
Dr. Etienne cautioned that if the increases in travel trends within and between countries continue, the region’s health systems will be in deeper trouble.
More than 210 million doses of covid vaccines have been administered across 49 countries and territories in the Americas. PAHO’s revolving fund has delivered more than 2.6 million covid vaccines from the COVAX mechanism to 26 countries and more doses are making their way to the Caribbean.
