More vaccines urgently needed in Latin America to contain Delta, says health agency

BRASILIA - Three-quarters of the people in Latin America and the Caribbean have not been fully immunized against COVID-19 in contrast to the United States and Canada where a majority have been vaccinated, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said on Wednesday.

PAHO Director Carissa Etienne stressed the inequality in the access to vaccines in a region that has been disproportionately hit by the pandemic, with nearly a third of the world's deaths. "We need more vaccine donations," she urged in a briefing from Washington, appealing to countries around the world with excess doses to quickly share them with the region to save lives.