On July 14, Haiti received 500,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccines donated by the United States through the COVAX Facility. The country is the fourth in the region to receive these donated shipments, after Honduras, El Salvador and Bolivia, with a total of 4,008,000 doses delivered so far.
“The arrival of these vaccines is quite promising and now the challenge is to get them to the people that need them the most,” said Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Director, Dr. Carissa F. Etienne.The donation is part of the U.S. government's plans to increase COVID-19 vaccination coverage in other countries around the world, counter new waves of infection, and prioritize vaccination of health care workers and other vulnerable populations in neighboring countries in need of vaccines. The U.S government has pledged to donate some 12 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to countries in the Caribbean and Latin America.
“These vaccines, which have obtained WHO emergency use license, will be administered free of charge to the Haitian population,” declared Dr. Marie Gréta Roy Clément, Haiti’s Minister of Public Health and Population.
The Revolving Fund and the PAHO Representation in Haiti has worked with the U.S. and Haitian authorities and the COVAX Facility on logistics and other relevant aspects to ensure that these vaccines arrived promptly and safely and are ready for deployment as soon as possible.
The COVAX Mechanism for vaccine sharing makes it possible for countries to share doses with others that have secured self-funded allocations through the Mechanism or through bilateral agreements, thereby helping to increase vaccine coverage, help ensure that no doses are wasted, and work to end the acute phase of the pandemic.
“Over the last few weeks, PAHO has delivered significant personal protective equipment, helped expand care for COVID-19 patients and provided thousands of tests and laboratory materials to strengthen surveillance activities in Haiti,” added Dr. Etienne.
In addition to the United States, the governments of Spain, Canada and others have donated vaccines and other support for Latin America and the Caribbean. PAHO has expressed its gratitude and continues calling on more developed countries to help expand access to vaccines for the region.
