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The Pan American Health Organization (OPS) alert Wednesday an increase in Covid-19 cases in half of the countries of the Americas, and urged Brazil to take action after recording a record number of infections and deaths in recent days.
“Today, we see the virus accelerating in about half of the countries in our region,” PAHO director Carissa Etienne said at a press conference. The official did special focus on Brazil, which has a record level of infections and hospital beds are near full capacity in more than half of the states.
“The situation in Brazil is a warning that controlling this virus requires continued attention from public health authorities. and leaders to protect people and health systems from the devastating impact of this virus, ”Etienne said.
An exhortation to Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who has always been skeptical of the severity of Covid-19, questioned the use of masks, the need for containment and the effectiveness of vaccines.
Sylvain Aldighieri, PAHO Incident Manager, noted that the current situation in Brazil is the result of a “sub-optimal” implementation of public health measures during the year-end holidays and carnival.
Brazil, second country in the world with the most deaths from coronavirus after the United States, currently has the highest number of new infections in all of America. This Tuesday reported a peak of 2,841 deaths in 24 hours, the highest figure since the start of the pandemic in this country.
Etienne clarified that while the United States and Mexico have shown a drop in new infections, with decreases also in the Caribbean, The pandemic has gained momentum in other countries in the region besides Brazil.
Mentioned at In Canada, with a particular increase among people aged 20 to 39, as well as many South American countries, among which he highlighted Uruguay, Ecuador and Venezuela.
“Last week the Paraguayan health system issued an urgent notice because hospitals were full of patients with covid-19,” Etienne said. “Big cities like Lima and Rio de Janeiro have imposed curfews and closures to control recent highs,” he added.
On the other hand, The Director of PAHO celebrated the arrival of vaccines in the region through the global Covax system, but recognized that “more and faster vaccinations” are needed. Of the nearly 138 million doses of anticovid vaccines applied in the Americas, only 28 million were administered in Latin America and the Caribbean, he said.
Faced with a reality of limited doses, he begged “not to lower your guard” in prevention. “It will be several months before we can count on vaccines to control this virus,” he added.
AstraZeneca vaccine
In accordance with the WHO, PAHO on Wednesday recommended that countries in the Americas continue to use the AstraZeneca anticovid vaccine, suspended across much of Europe while reports of blood clots in those vaccinated are being assessed.
Aldighieri said that US countries currently applying doses of AstraZeneca “have not reported red flags regarding the safety of this vaccine,” and ruled out that the vaccination process would be affected by what happened in Europe.
“The two batches of vaccines that are being analyzed in Europe will not be distributed through the Covax mechanism in the Americas,” he explained, noting that Doses of AstraZeneca for the region are produced in South Korea and India.
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