|
 "This
is a clear sign that transmission is far from being controlled in
our region, even as countries like the United States and Brazil are
reporting reductions in cases," PAHO Director Carissa Etienne told a
webcast news conference.
India's B.1.617 predominant coronavirus variant has been detected in
six countries in the Americas, and PAHO is worried because it is
highly transmissible, incident manager Sylvain Aldighieri said.
Eight cases of the Indian variant have been detected, mainly
involving travelers, in Mexico, Panama, Argentina, Aruba, Dutch St.
Maarten and Guadeloupe, a department of France, PAHO said.
The World Health Organization's recent approval of China's Sinopharm
vaccine will offer fresh hope of expanding access to vaccines in
Latin American countries, PAHO said.
More than 140 million people have been fully vaccinated against
COVID-19 in the Americas, Etienne said.
"But until we have enough vaccines to protect everyone, our health
systems and the patients that rely on them remain in danger," she
warned.
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Across the Americas region, nearly 80% of our intensive care units
are filled with COVID-19 patients, and the numbers are even more
dire in some places, she said.
The number of cases is falling in Brazil, but reported infections
are surging in the areas of Guyana and Bolivia that border Brazil,
the PAHO said. In Colombia, it expects even steeper rises in cases
following a week of protests there.
Cuba continues to drive most new infections in the Caribbean, the
organization said, while Canada is seeing higher rates of infections
in the east and across the northern territory, home to a majority
indigenous population.
(Reporting by Anthony Boadle; editing by John Stonestreet, Aurora
Ellis and Philippa Fletcher)
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