Low Caribbean covid19 vaccination rates worry PAHO

Dr Carissa Etienne, director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), said on Wednesday the low vaccination coverage in many Caribbean countries must be urgently addressed to stop the spread of covid19.

Etiene said in PAHO's weekly webinar that overall, new cases in the Caribbean have fallen by 44 per cent, but several countries have reported increases.

In the Bahamas, the virus continues to attack vulnerable populations. Grenada reported a 50 per cent increase in admissions to intensive care.

Last week there were 2.2 million new cases of covid19 in the Americas, a drop of 28 per cent compared to the previous week, while in reports of deaths, after six consecutive weeks of increases, there was a decrease of nine per cent to 29,000.

“These trends show many places continue to be affected by the omicron variant. We remain vigilant and maintain the measures that have been shown to be effective,” Etienne said.

She highlighted the Caribbean is home to more than 44 million people and so far 63 per cent of the population has been vaccinated.

“This is a landscape with many contrasts. While 91 per cent of people in the Cayman Islands have been immunised against covid19, less than one per cent of Haitians have received all doses. Of the 13 countries or territories in the Americas that have not reached the vaccination goal of 40 per cent set by the World Health Organization, ten are in the Caribbean,” she said.

“In some countries the vaccination centres are in central areas far from the furthest points, while other countries have a shortage of nurses or doctors, and others have not been vaccinated by choice.”

Etienne said studies by PAHO found some people have not been vaccinated because they are waiting for more information about vaccines and others because they do not see covid19 as a danger to them.

Etienne said in surveys, 51 per cent of people hesitant to get vaccinated in the Caribbean said they were willing to change their minds if they received more information.

“Nearly 700 million people have received the full vaccination regime, but only 21 million people in the Caribbean have received it,” she said.

She said in TT it is necessary to reach nurses, who are direct sources of information, as well as other health workers.

“We need to make immunisations easier for people closer to home, invest in staff and infrastructure, and make office hours more convenient for people who work,” she said.

She urged countries to work with trusted individuals and community leaders to create spaces for dialogue that address vaccination concerns.

“We don't know when the pandemic will end, but we do know that vaccination is the most effective way to make it end soon. We must take advantage of the best supply of vaccines to expand it, expand coverage in high-risk people,” said Etienne.