ECLAC calls for improving access to Covid-19 vaccines

Santiago de Chile, Nov 5 (Prensa Latina) The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) laid stress on the pressing need to improve access to Covid-19 vaccines, as a pivotal factor for post-pandemic recovery.

Ahead of keynote panel ¨The Impact of the Crisis on the Regional and World Stages¨, ECLAC Executive Secretary Alicia Bárcena recalled that the immunization rates between developed and developing countries have shown great asymmetries.

This situation leads ECLAC to estimate the region will not be able to vaccinate 80% of its inhabitants in 2021, Ms. Bárcena said.

She stressed that ECLAC, at the request of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), works with regional countries to implement a Self-Sufficiency Health Plan, with the aim of strengthening capacities for producing and distributing vaccines and medicines.

In spite of accounting for 8.4% of the world’s population, Latin America and the Caribbean reach 30% of those died of Covid-19.

Ms. Bárcena stated that the Covid-19 pandemic has shown profound economic and social impacts and worsened structural issues of our development model, highlighting the high levels of informality, poverty and inequality.