Americas is facing pandemic of the unvaccinated, PAHO says
A health worker inoculates a woman with her first dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine at the Saint Damien Hospital in Port-au-Prince, Haiti July 19, 2021. REUTERS/Ricardo Arduengo
The Americas is facing a pandemic of the unvaccinated, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said on Wednesday, as it warned countries with low inoculation rates are seeing increases in Covid-19 and repeated a call for vaccine donations.
"We face a pandemic of the unvaccinated, and the only way to stop it is to expand vaccination," PAHO Director Carissa Etienne said at a weekly briefing. "Vaccines are critical, even if no vaccine is 100% effective."
The start of vaccinations in Haiti - which has plunged deeper into turmoil following the assassination of President Jovenel Moise - highlights how ready countries are to receive donations of shots, she added.
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