Questions? +1 (202) 335-3939 Login
Trusted News Since 1995
A service for pharmaceutical industry professionals · Friday, March 29, 2024 · 699,603,495 Articles · 3+ Million Readers

Beyond COVID-19, the challenge of vaccination in Latin America and the Caribbean

ZUG, SWITZERLAND, September 22, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ -- According to the World Health Organization (WHO) as of 2019, vaccines prevented the death of approximately three million people per year, of which 2.5 million were children.

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), who carries out this record for Latin America and the Caribbean, estimated that national immunization programs in the region prevented the death of approximately 174,000 children under five years of age each year.

With the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the need to ensure safe and sufficient access to medicines for both pre-existing diseases and the coronavirus, has become evident. PAHO is aware that more than 300,000 children, mainly in Mexico and Brazil, have not received routine vaccinations, which may leave them vulnerable to deadly infections that are preventable.

With respect to COVID-19, at the beginning of September 2021, PAHO recorded that only one out of every four people is fully vaccinated in the subcontinent. According to the same organization, there are countries in the region with coverage below 20% of their population, while in Central American nations such as Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, progress is barely in single digits.

Despite the technological and scientific advances that have enabled the world to have immunobiological drugs to combat preventable deadly diseases and even to have, in record time, vaccines that significantly reduce the risk of death from COVID-19, their availability in Latin America and the Caribbean is limited.

In this context, LATAM Pharma has assumed as its purpose the generation of alliances that allow the region to improve access to these scientific and technological advances, through the development, manufacture, procurement and licensing, as well as the distribution of immunobiological products. The aim is to increase the quantity and improve the quality of medicines available in the region.

Such is the relevance of these needs that during the VI Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) recently held in Mexico, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) presented guidelines and proposals for a sanitary self-sufficiency plan in the region, which includes immediate actions to accelerate vaccination processes and in the medium term seeks to strengthen technological and productive capacities among its members.

LATAM Pharma will contribute its talent and commitment to achieve these objectives, with the conviction of helping to improve access to medicines to tackle preventable diseases such as malaria, cholera, dengue, influenza and meningococcal disease, which are persistent in Latin America and the Caribbean.

https://www.who.int/es/news-room/facts-in-pictures/detail/immunization
https://www.paho.org/hq/dmdocuments/2015/CD54-7-e.pdf
https://www.paho.org/es/noticias/28-7-2021-ops-america-latina-caribe-podrian-enfrentar-avalancha-problemas-salud-si
https://www.paho.org/es/noticias/1-9-2021-ops-solo-cada-cuatro-personas-esta-completamente-vacunada-contra-covid-19-america

Press Release
LATAM Pharma Innovative Ventures AG
email us here

Powered by EIN Presswire


EIN Presswire does not exercise editorial control over third-party content provided, uploaded, published, or distributed by users of EIN Presswire. We are a distributor, not a publisher, of 3rd party content. Such content may contain the views, opinions, statements, offers, and other material of the respective users, suppliers, participants, or authors.

Submit your press release