The Pan American Health Organization revealed Wednesday that while other Latin American and Caribbean countries have begun providing COVID-19 vaccines, Haiti has yet to complete the necessary processes to receive even a single injection.
“Haiti is still finalizing the preparations that all of the other nations have made to be able to acquire these vaccines,” said PAHO associate director Dr Jarbas Barbosa. “Haiti is not paying for these vaccines, but it must make legal and administrative procedures.
PAHO did not disclose any additional information about the snafu. Before receiving immunizations, Haiti’s health ministry must guarantee that all necessary safeguards are in place, including personnel training, logistics, storage, and surveillance, and permitting the import of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Haiti is one of ten Latin American and Caribbean countries with free COVID-19 immunizations for 20 percent of its population. The country will receive 756,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine as part of its initial shipment.
The doses were expected to arrive by the end of the month, according to PAHO authorities. Even that, though, is now in doubt. Not only are Haiti’s arrangements an issue, but India’s continued lethal surge is as well.
The Serum Institute of India has pledged to supply one billion doses of AstraZeneca vaccines to the COVAX Facility. This UN-backed coalition helps impoverished countries access life-saving vaccines. However, as COVID-19 instances exploded in India, the Indian government banned exports and has yet to permit the producer to send doses.
This month, Serum was meant to send immunizations to Haiti, Nicaragua, and Bolivia via COVAX.
Barbosa added, “We’re still talking with the Indian government so that the Serum Institute of India may complete its contracts, the contracts they have with the COVAX Facility.”
According to Barbosa, if a deal isn’t made, the temporary halt could damage supplies not just in the region but worldwide. The WHO suggests that a portion of Serum’s production be given to COVAX for distribution.
The rest remain for India’s domestic use in high-level negotiations with the director-general of the World Health Organization and others.
