{"id":170323,"date":"2023-03-09T18:22:47","date_gmt":"2023-03-09T22:22:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/?p=170323"},"modified":"2023-03-09T18:22:47","modified_gmt":"2023-03-09T22:22:47","slug":"after-three-years-of-covid-19-surveillance-and-vaccination-key-to-ending-pandemic-in-the-americas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/after-three-years-of-covid-19-surveillance-and-vaccination-key-to-ending-pandemic-in-the-americas\/","title":{"rendered":"After three years of COVID-19, surveillance and vaccination key to ending pandemic in the Americas"},"content":{"rendered":"
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As the COVID-19 pandemic enters its third year in the Region of the Americas, Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Director, Dr. Jarbas Barbosa, has called on countries to strengthen surveillance and bridge gaps in vaccination coverage to end the emergency and better prepare for future health crises.<\/p>
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Over the past three years, the Americas had over 190.3 million COVID-19 cases and over 2.9 million deaths, accounting for 25% and 43% of the global total respectively.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe pandemic underscored that no country or organization in the world was fully prepared for the impact of this pandemic,\u201d Dr Barbosa said during a media briefing today. This includes the Americas, which is a region \u201cmarked by inequities.\u201d<\/p>

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Today, incidence rates are 20-30 times lower than a year ago, but \u201cwhile we are not totally out of the woods, we are in a much better place,\u201d he added.<\/p>

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The PAHO Director highlighted the key role PAHO played in helping countries get to this place. This includes building and strengthening the COVID-19 Genomic Surveillance Regional Network, which is key to tracking the evolution of the virus, as well as monitoring for other pathogens with pandemic potential, including avian flu. Over the past three years, the network has facilitated the uploading of more than 580,000 sequences from Latin America and the Caribbean into global databases.<\/p>\n

Dr. Barbosa also highlighted the role PAHO played in getting COVID-19 vaccine shots into arms \u201cmobilizing over 160 million doses through COVAX and helping the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean roll out more than 1.3 billion vaccine doses in less than two years.\u201d<\/p>

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Despite these achievements, Dr. Barbosa warned that \u201cCOVID-19 is still with us and the virus has yet to settle into a predictable pattern.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThroughout the last month, we have seen more than 1.5 million new cases and 17,000 deaths,\u201d the PAHO Director said. \u201cWe cannot be complacent.\u201d<\/p>

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Dr. Barbosa warned that while testing rates have dropped, it is crucial that countries maintain and continue to strengthen surveillance as the SARS-CoV-2 virus \u201ccan evolve and adapt quickly\u201d.<\/p>

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Reaching the 30% of people who have yet to receive their COVID-19 primary series of COVID-19 vaccine, is also key to \u201cpreparing ourselves for any new wave of infection or new variant of concern.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the Region has experienced a variety of setbacks throughout the pandemic that have \u201crevealed or exacerbated weaknesses in our health systems\u201d, including in the detection and treatment of diseases such as TB and HIV, in the testing and treatment of non-communicable diseases; and in declining rates for routine vaccination, we now have a unique opportunity to \u201cplace health at the center of the Sustainable Development Agenda.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe must focus on recovering losses and on rebuilding resilient health systems that work for everyone, as well as being better prepared for future health threats,\u201d the PAHO Director said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs I begin my tenure, a primary focus is to help countries of the Americas move past the COVID-19 pandemic.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPAHO stands ready to support our countries in the Americas, to learn from and apply the lessons we have learned from the COVID-19 pandemic.\u201d<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
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