COVID-19 cases fall but region told to remain vigilant

While COVID-19 cases have decreased in the Americas for the first time in five weeks, Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Director Dr Carissa Etienne has urged countries to stay on alert.

“Being healthy and safe from disease is an action, not a guarantee,” she said at a media briefing on Wednesday, as she called on countries to use the tools at their disposal, such as vaccines, medicines, and surveillance, to keep their populations healthy.

Despite an overall drop in COVID-19 in the region, Dr Etienne warned that cases remain high. In the Caribbean, hospitalisations continue to increase in Cuba, Guadeloupe, French Guiana, and Trinidad and Tobago.

In North America, Canada reported a 20 per cent increase in new cases, and some countries in Central and South America also reported surges.

The PAHO Director highlighted that, as is also the case in Europe, Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 sub-lineages are becoming the predominant strains in the Americas, but with one key difference – vaccination coverage.

She noted that while high vaccination coverage in Europe means that most COVID-19 patients have been able to safely manage their symptoms at home, in the Americas “a third of the population remains unvaccinated and ten countries and territories have yet to protect even 40 per cent of their populations”.

Given the increased transmissibility of the new sub-lineages, the PAHO director urged countries to implement public health measures such as social distancing and mask-wearing, and also advised that hospitals in areas with low vaccination coverage should “brace themselves” for an influx of COVID-19 patients.

Dr Etienne said countries must also prepare for Monkeypox, which was declared a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organisation (WHO) last weekend.

In the Americas, numbers have reached almost 5 300 across 18 countries and territories, including Barbados, The Bahamas, Bermuda, and Jamaica.

While nearly all cases so far have been reported among men who have sex with men, between the ages of 25 and 45, Dr Etienne warned against stigma and discrimination, underscoring that “anyone, regardless of their gender or sexual orientation, can get Monkeypox”.

PAHO said it continues to work with member states on their COVID-19 response and has also issued guidance for health workers to manage Monkeypox cases and prevent further infections.

Turning to the recent case of vaccine-derived polio type 2 reported in the United States, Dr Etienne warned that while the Americas has been polio-free since 1994, thanks to good vaccination coverage and surveillance, in recent years polio vaccination rates have dropped considerably.

The PAHO director said this low vaccination coverage is “extremely worrisome”, putting children at risk of “devastating diseases that have been eliminated in the region”.

“We cannot afford to be complacent,” she added. (SD/PAHO)