Producing COVID-19 vaccines in Latin America will ease shortages, protect more people

 (United Nations News) A new platform launched on Wednesday by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) will ease severe COVID-19 vaccine shortages and safeguard more people in Latin America and the Caribbean by producing inoculations within the region.

PAHO Director Carissa F. Etienne announced the launch of the Regional Platform to Advance the Manufacturing of COVID-19 Vaccines and other Health Technologies in the Americas, describing as an initiative that will “coordinate across sectors – health, science and technology and industry – to strengthen their capacity to produce new technologies”.

The UN official explained the need for the platform, saying, “limited [global] production and unequal distribution of vaccines in the face of staggering demand hinder our COVID response”.

So far, only about 23 per cent of people in the region have been fully vaccinated, and in many countries, coverage is much lower.

The platform will support collaboration across States and agencies, applying existing regional biomanufacturing capacity to produce COVID-19 jabs as well as other medical technologies.

Read more at: United Nations News

Source: CARICOM TODAY