The director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Dr Carissa F. Etienne says the severe shortage of COVID-19 vaccines in Latin America and the Caribbean is a “wake-up call” for an increased regional production of vaccines and announced the start of a new platform to reach that goal.
“This week, PAHO will launch a platform to boost regional vaccine manufacturing efforts, beginning with the first in a series of meetings to promote greater coordination across countries and to enlist partners from both the public and private sectors to turn this idea into reality,” Dr Etienne said.
Explaining the drive for the new platform, the Dominican-born PAHO director said that “limited production and unequal distribution of vaccines” compromise the region’s pandemic response and “put public health at very high risk”.
She said reliance on imports makes Latin America and the Caribbean more vulnerable, adding “our region imports 10 times more pharmaceuticals than we produce.
