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1 1 (October 15, 2021)

handle is hein.crs/govehiu0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Con gressionaI Research Sentu informing Ih legisIatve dIebate sne 1914 0 Updated October 15, 2021 Latin America and the Caribbean: Impact of COVID-19 The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is having widespread economic, social, and political effects on Latin America and the Caribbean. As of October 14, 2021, the region had 45.4 million confirmed cases (almost 19% of cases worldwide) and more than 1.5 million deaths (almost 31% of deaths worldwide). Brazil, Mexico, Peru, Colombia, and Argentina had the region's highest numbers of deaths. Looking at mortality (death) rates per 100,000 population, Peru had the highest recorded COVID-19 mortality rate in the region, followed by Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, and Paraguay (see Table 1). In its weekly press briefing on the pandemic on October 13, 2021, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) reported that COVID-19 infections were declining in Central America, although cases remained high in Belize. In South America, PAHO reported that new infections were dropping across the continent but noted some spikes within countries, including the greater Caracas area of Venezuela and Chile's southernmost regions. In the Caribbean, PAHO reported that Barbados was experiencing the highest number of cases since the pandemic began, as well as increased cases in the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and some smaller islands, including Antigua and Barbuda. Since the start of the pandemic, PAHO's director has expressed concern about the poor and other vulnerable groups at greatest risk, including those living in the Amazon Basin, particularly Indigenous communities; women, who comprise 70% of the health workforce; people of African descent; migrants in temporary settlements; and prisoners in crowded jails. The rollout of vaccines has varied considerably, and there is concern that widespread vaccine access in some countries could be delayed until late 2022 or 2023, making populations vulnerable to new waves and more transmittable variants of the virus. According to PAHO's director, as of October 13, 2021, 39% of the population of Latin America and the Caribbean had been fully vaccinated, but in many countries the percentage was much lower. Chile and Uruguay were leaders in the region, with 75% of their populations fully vaccinated. In contrast, countries with low vaccination rates of less than 20% as of October 14 include Guatemala, Haiti, Jamaica, Nicaragua, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. PAHO has helped countries prepare for vaccine rollout and has facilitated access to vaccines through the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) Facility, a mechanism developed by global health organizations to facilitate equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines; 22 countries in the region have signed agreements to access vaccines through the facility. In addition, 10 countries in the region-Bolivia, Dominica, El Salvador, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines-are eligible to benefit from the COVID-19 Vaccines Advance Market Commitment (COVAX AMC), launched by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, to provide donor- funded vaccines for low- and middle-income economies. Table 1. COVID-19 Deaths, Mortality Rates, and Vaccinations in Latin American & Caribbean (countries with more than 1,000 deaths, as of Oct. 14, 2021) Fully Deaths per Vaccinated Country Deaths 100,000 (percentage) Brazil 601,574 285.04 47.19 Mexico 282,773 221.65 38.87 Peru 199,746 614.41 40.53 Colombia 126,726 251.74 37.38 Argentina 115,582 257.20 53.48 Chile 37,578 198.28 75.20 Ecuador 32,848 189.07 57.62 Bolivia 18,811 163.39 30.10 Paraguay 16,207 230.06 28.37 Guatemala 14,177 85.38 17.36 Honduras 10,064 103.26 25.46 Cuba 7,956 70.20 56.00 Panama 7,275 171.32 54.63 Costa Rica 6,744 133.61 47.17 Uruguay 6,065 175.20 75.14 Venezuela 4,652 16.31 21.71 Dom. Rep. 4,077 37.96 46.62 El Salvador 3,420 52.99 55.51 Jamaica 2,053 69.63 11.09 Trinidad & 1,572 1 12.69 39.92 Tobago Total LAC 1,504,331 - - Sources: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Coronavirus Resource Center, Vaccination Progress Across the World, at https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/vaccines/international, and Mortality Analyses, at https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/data/mortality, Oct. 14, 2021. For Cuba, the vaccination source is Josh Holder, Tracking Coronavirus Vaccinations Around the World, New York Times, Oct. 14, 2021.

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