PAHO Says States Should Be Prepared for More COVID-19 Cases

Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) member countries with lagging COVID-19 vaccination coverage, have been urged to ensure their hospitals are adequately prepared to care for an anticipated influx of patients.

PAHO Director, Dr. Carissa Etienne, says while COVID-19 cases across the region have broadly decreased for the first time in five weeks, with deaths remaining stable, hospitalisations and intensive care unit (ICU) admissions are up in more than eight countries.

“Infections are still high. More than 1.6 million new COVID cases were reported in our region over the last week, and several countries are still experiencing a rise in cases,” she added.

Her remarks were delivered by Deputy Director, Mary Lou Valdez, during PAHO’s COVID-19 digital media briefing, on Wednesday (July 27).

Dr. Etienne said among the countries with climbing infection rates are Canada, up 20 per cent, as well as Costa Rica and Honduras.

She also informed that the greatest surges were reported in Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela, among South American countries.

“In the Caribbean, Cuba, Guadeloupe, French Guiana, and Trinidad and Tobago continue to observe increasing COVID-19 hospitalisations and ICU admissions,” the Director added.

Dr. Etienne said the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 sub-lineages are becoming the predominant strains in the region and deemed responsible for a growing number of COVID cases in the Americas, as is occurring in several European countries.

“But there’s one key difference between the dynamics in Europe and the situation in the Americas, and that is vaccination coverage. Thanks to high vaccination coverage across Europe, most COVID patients have been able to safely manage their symptoms at home, leaving hospitals to care for the most vulnerable patients. Yet here in the Americas, one-third of the population remains unvaccinated, and 10 countries and territories have yet to protect even 40 per cent of their populations,” the Director added.

She emphasised that without adequate vaccination, “we leave ourselves and our families vulnerable to this evolving virus”.

“Our region must take Omicron seriously and consider adjusting public health measures as needed. Because these strains are more transmissible than the original SARS-CoV-2 strain, [physical] distancing and mask wearing are still effective means to limit COVID’s spread,” the Director said.

Dr. Etienne is currently in the island on a four-day visit.