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St. Vincent & Grenadines + 6 more

Latin America & The Caribbean Weekly Situation Update (10-16 May 2021), as of 17 May 2021

Attachments

KEY FIGURES

937.9K NEW COVID-19 CASES IN LATIN AMERICA & THE CARIBBEAN FROM 10-16 MAY 2021

125.7M COVID-19 VACCINE DOSES ADMINISTERED IN LATIN AMERICA & THE CARIBBEAN

HONDURAS

Mayors from seven Honduran municipalities requested aid from El Salvador in providing 121,800 COVID-19 vaccine doses, an amount that would cover about 70 per cent of the 97,485 people that live in these municipalities. Honduras has received only 246,800 doses so far, most through the COVAX Facility, and remains at .58 doses per every 100 people, the lowest per capita rate in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The shipment comes as Honduras experienced the deadliest week of their COVID-19 pandemic during the first week of May, with the week’s 331 deaths and daily average of 47 deaths well above any week in July 2020, the first peak of the pandemic. The rising trend in deaths indicates that May will likely be the deadliest month of the pandemic for Honduras, with medical experts anticipating more than 1,000 deaths for a 30 per cent increase from July 2020’s monthly death toll of 840.

BRAZIL

The Amazonas state health secretary’s office says they are working with PAHO to prepare for a third wave of COVID-19 cases following a 42.3 per cent increase in infections that experts say may continue unabated, especially if new variants are found.
State Government officials say they are bracing for the worst possible scenario; intensive care units (ICUs) in the state are currently at 63 per cent capacity, prompting concerns that the overworked and understaffed health system may again collapse.
Although Brazil has administered more than 48 million doses for a rate of 22.67 doses per every 100 people, Amazonas’ sprawling geography presents a significant challenge. Remote rural communities near the Amazon river are enclosed almost entirely by rainforest, prompting long trips to administer doses. Per the Amazonas Health Surveillance Foundation (FVSAM), 28.4 per cent of rural residents in Amazonas have received first doses compared to only 0.2 per cent who have been fully inoculated.

CUBA

Cuba began their COVID-19 immunization drive with their nationally-produced Soberana 02 and Abdala vaccines that are still in late-stage clinical trials. The decision to kickstart vaccinations comes amid a surge in cases that saw April 2021 accumulate 2.6 times as many cases as the 12,000 cases reported during all of 2020 and 1.5 times as many deaths as the 2020 death toll of 146. Moreover, the growth in cases and deaths comes amid a sharp economic downturn that is driving food and medicine shortages.
Cuba continues to develop three additional COVID-19 vaccines.

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