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Chile + 4 more

Latin America & The Caribbean Weekly Situation Update (15-21 March 2021), as of 22 March 2021

Attachments

KEY FIGURES

  • 791.1K NEW COVID-19 CASES IN LATIN AMERICA & THE CARIBBEAN FROM 15-21 MARCH 2021

  • 34.9M COVID-19 VACCINE DOSES ADMINISTERED IN LATIN AMERICA & THE CARIBBEAN

  • 6K+ PEOPLE REPORTEDLY FORMING NEW MIGRANT CARAVAN SET TO LEAVE HONDURAS ON 30 MARCH

  • 100.4K MIGRANTS APPREHENDED OR EXPELLED FROM THE US-MEXICO BORDER IN FEBRUARY 2021

  • 34M JOBS LOST IN LATIN AMERICA & THE CARIBBEAN DURING 2020 DUE TO COVID-19 PANDEMIC

EL SALVADOR

El Salvador received their first shipment of COVID-19 vaccine doses allotted to them through the COVAX Facility. Officials say the 33,600-dose shipment will be used to continue vaccinating health personnel in El Salvador’s initial vaccination phase.

El Salvador will continue to receive COVAX shipments until they vaccinate 20 per cent of their 6.4 million people. The Health Ministry indicates that they expect to conclude their vaccination process and cover 100 per cent of their population in February 2022. The announcement of the expected targets comes as El Salvador records declining daily new cases and deaths; as of 16 March, active cases are below 1,000 for the first time since May 2019.

CHILE

Despite vaccinating more than a third of its 19 million people, Chile is seeing an alarming rise in COVID-19 cases that is causing intensive care units (ICUs) to overflow. Daily new case counts have exceeded 5,000 in recent days, with the 5,900 new cases reported on 12 March the highest case count since the first peak of Chile’s pandemic in mid-June 2020. The Ministry of Health is attributing the rise in cases to peak summer vacation activity in February.

Although Chile’s vaccination campaign has been recognized as one of the most aggressive in the world, the rapid rise in cases is prompting health officials to warn that vaccinations will not make a significant difference until 80 per cent of Chile is fully vaccinated to achieve herd immunity, something they do not predict to happen for another three months.

JAMAICA

Jamaica is receiving vaccine support from the COVAX Facility and financial support from PAHO/WHO as their health system faces collapse following a 670 per cent increase in active cases since the start of 2021, an increase that has accounted for half of the entire pandemic’s cumulative caseload over a six-week span since early February. Jamaica received 14,400 doses of COVID-19 vaccines through the COVAX Facility on 15 March, with more shipments expected to arrive through May to reach their allotment of 124,800 doses through COVAX.

The shipment makes Jamaica the first Caribbean country to receive doses through the vaccine-sharing mechanism. Jamaica will also receive a PAHO/WHO contribution of US$800,000 to support the health system and services.

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UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
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