While the number of COVID-19 cases is stabilizing in the region, the director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Carissa Etienne, is advising countries to remain vigilant about the virus. The downward trend in the region is the case for the first time in five weeks, the director reports. She also called for other health emergencies such as monkeypox to be controlled. The monkeypox was declared a public health emergency of international concern over the weekend.
“Being healthy and being safe from disease is an action, not a guarantee,” the director said at a news conference yesterday, calling on countries to use the resources at their disposal — vaccines, drugs and surveillance.
Despite an overall decline in COVID-19 in the region, Etienne warned that the number of cases remains high, with countries reporting 1.6 million new infections in the past week.
In North America, Canada reported a 20 percent increase in new cases, and some countries in Central and South America also reported increases. In the Caribbean, hospitalizations continue to rise in Cuba, Guadeloupe, French Guiana and Trinidad and Tobago.
The PAHO director stressed that, as is the case in Europe, the sub-strains omicron BA.4 and BA.5 are becoming the predominant strains in America, but with one important difference – vaccination coverage.
Europe’s high vaccination coverage means that most COVID-19 patients have been able to fight their symptoms safely at home, but in America “one third of the population is still unvaccinated and ten countries and territories still have to protect 40 percent of their populations.” she said.
Given the increased transmissibility of the new subfamilies, Etienne urged countries to take public health measures, such as social distancing and wearing masks, and advised that hospitals in low-vaccination areas “should brace themselves” for an influx. of COVID-19 patients.
The PAHO director said countries should also prepare for monkeypox, which was declared a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organization (WHO) this weekend.
In the Americas, the number of cases has risen to nearly 5,300 in 18 countries and territories. But while nearly all cases so far have been reported among men who have sex with men between the ages of 25 and 45, the director warned against stigma and discrimination, stressing that “anyone, regardless of gender or sexual orientation, can get the monkeypox.”
PAHO continues to work with Member States on the response to COVID-19 and has also issued guidelines for health professionals to deal with cases of monkeypox and prevent further infections.
Regarding the recent case of type 2 polio reported in the United States, Etienne warned that while the Americas have been polio-free since 1994 thanks to good vaccination coverage and surveillance, polio vaccination rates have fallen significantly in recent years. .
The director said the low vaccination rate is “extremely concerning” and puts children at risk from “devastating diseases that have been eradicated from the region”.
“We cannot afford to be complacent,” she added, and must use the resources at our disposal to keep our populations healthy.