PAHO will begin procuring COVID-19 vaccines to expand access in Latin America, Caribbean

(PAHO Press Release) – Taking action to expand access to the COVID-19 vaccines, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) will use its Revolving Fund to help countries in Latin America and the Caribbean procure enough vaccines to control transmission, PAHO Director Carissa F. Etienne said.

“The region is still short of the doses needed to turn the tide of the pandemic,” she told reporters at a media briefing. “We need a significant influx of vaccines and a more equitable process for distributing them. With this in mind, PAHO is offering our Member States a new opportunity to access COVID-19 vaccines.”

PAHO’s Revolving Fund will go “beyond the 20 percent COVAX offers,” Dr. Etienne explained, referring to COVAX’s commitment to procure vaccines for 20% of the region’s population—the most at-risk groups.

The Revolving Fund, which has procured other vaccines for the region at low prices for 42 years, is already receiving requests from countries for COVID-19 vaccines for the last three months of 2021 and for 2022, Dr. Etienne said. “So far, more than 20 countries have formally expressed interest and the number is growing by the day.”

Up until now, the Revolving Fund has served as one of the COVAX purchasing mechanisms and worked directly with countries requesting support to deliver donations through bilateral agreements. It has deployed over 20 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to Latin American and Caribbean countries procured through COVAX. 

Read more at: Pan American Health Organisation

Source: CARICOM TODAY