
Unlike some countries, those in Latin America and the Caribbean are still in the process of obtaining vaccines for their population. Countries like Argentina – one of the most populous in this region – have a very low percentage of their population vaccinated.
This makes it clear that the recovery process from the crisis generated by the COVID-19 pandemic is still challenging. Even though the COVAX initiative has been helpful in enabling more equitable access to the vaccine, this analysis reveals it is still not enough. Find out what the data shows about the vaccination registry in 5 Latin American and the Caribbean countries until March 2021, alongside some projections for the next months.
- Peru
According to the data analyzed by the Knowledge 4 Recovery team, up to March 15, 2021,, only 1.8% of the population in Peu had been vaccinated. Out of 32,510,500 people, 578,622 have received a shot. As part of the COVAX initiative, this country expects to receive 11,000 doses from Pfizer and BioNTech laboratories and 1,296,000 from AstraZeneca.

- Uruguay
On March 15, 2021, Uruguay had applied 262,105 doses, meaning 7.6% of the population had been vaccinated. It is projected that from March 16, 2021, until April 12, 2021 a total of 726.737 doses will be applied and the country has been allocated 148,800 doses from AstraZeneca.

- Argentina
By March 15, 2021, Argentina – one of the biggest countries in the region in terms of population – with a total population of 44,780,700 people, applied a total of 2,331,195 doses , meaning 5.2% of the population had been vaccinated.

- Dominican Republic
With a total of 10,739,000 inhabitants, it was registered that on March 15, 2021, 535,494 doses had been applied, representing 5.0% of the population. This country is an uncommon case, since the number of vaccines administered is projected to be reduced over time. Between March 15, 2021 until April 12, 2021, only 306,053 doses will be applied.

- Jamaica
Jamaica is also an uncommon case. By March 15, 2021, it had not received one single dose. From a total of 2,948,300 people, none had been vaccinated, and the projection shows that from March 15 to April 12, 2021, only 605 doses will be applied.

This data shows that the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, although part of the COVAX initiative, continue to have a deficit of vaccines applied according to their total population. Efforts must be maintained to achieve equality in its distribution and application.