Against the background of a limited number of vaccines, COVID-19 cases have increased in America, PAHO officials said.
Amid a struggle to secure a sufficient number of coronavirus vaccines in America, there are reports of proliferation of false doses on the black market in several countries in the region, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said Wednesday.
“We have received some information from Mexico, Argentina and Brazil that some doses have been offered through social media, with illegal markets offering vaccines that are likely to be counterfeit,” said Jarbas Barbosa, PAHO’s deputy director during a weekly news conference.
“There are no real vaccines or maybe there are doses stolen from a health facility that no one can assure have been stored properly,” Barbosa said.
A woman receiving a dose of AstraZeneca vaccine during a day-long vaccination campaign in Duque de Caxias near Rio de Janeiro, Brazil [Ricardo Moraes/Reuters]
On Wednesday, The Wall Street Journal reported that Pfizer had identified counterfeit vaccines in Mexico and Poland. According to the report, 80 people in Mexico were hit with false doses in a clinic after paying $ 1,000 per dose.
According to the report, people who received the fake vaccines were not adversely affected. Citing authorities, the report said in Poland that the fake vaccines had been confiscated before they were administered.
At Wednesday’s press conference, PAHO Director Carissa Etienne said the organization was also concerned about the vaccine’s hesitation. She said that “insidious rumors and conspiracy theories” were “inspiring fear and cost lives.”
She said PAHO is working with technology companies to combat the misinformation that has proliferated rapidly on the internet and social networking sites.
“Because reliable information spreads quickly, PAHO works with technology companies such as Twitter, Google and Facebook to address false news and ensure that the public can easily find accurate information,” she said.
Reports of counterfeit vaccines and vaccine reluctance in America came amid a limited number of vaccines in the region and a growing number of COVID-19 cases.
Brazil has so far vaccinated 11.6% of its population, and Mexico has vaccinated 8.7%. Other nations in the region lag behind [Ricardo Moraes/Reuters]
“Latin America is currently the region that needs the most vaccines,” said Etienne. “This region should be a priority for the distribution of vaccines.”
“No one will be safe until we are all safe.”
Nearly half of the world’s coronavirus deaths over the weekend were in America, Etienne said, adding that almost every Central American country reports an increase in infections. She said Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic were the hardest hit.
“Over the weekend, the world reached a tragic stage – more than three million lost their lives to COVID, and nearly half of those deaths occurred right here in America,” Etienne said.
Chile sees a plateau in cases, while Brazil reports a decline. But despite the decline, Etienne said, cases in Brazil “remain alarmingly high.” Argentina ranked third regionally in the weekly number of new cases. Colombia, Venezuela, Bolivia and Uruguay have also seen a worsening. And Mexico, after weeks of decline in new cases, is growing slightly.
The good news is that after the strengthening of public health measures, Chile 🇨🇱 saw the plateau of cases, and after a few difficult months, Brazil reporting reports a decrease in cases – including in the Amazon region.
– PAHO / WHO (@pahowho) April 21, 2021
At the regional level, the United States and Chile have made the most progress in their vaccination campaigns – both have vaccinated about 40 percent of their population – according to Our World in Data.
Uruguay has inoculated more than 30% of its population, while Brazil has so far vaccinated 11.6% and Mexico has vaccinated about 8.7%. Other nations in the region lag behind.
During the news briefing, officials said that most countries in the region rely on the global COVAX mechanism, which aims to equitably distribute vaccines to developing countries.
Etienne said more than 4.2 million doses of the vaccine have been delivered to 29 countries in the United States through COVAX and several doses are being administered.