Latin America ranks second in terms of COVID-19 vaccination rates globally

Latin America is witnessing a fall in the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths now that the region has managed to fully vaccinate 62% of its citizens. The continent ranks second in terms of the vaccination rate per region, a dynamic that followed a fairly difficult pandemic period throughout 2020 and during part of 2021.

Latin America vs. other regions

Latin America has fully vaccinated almost 62% of its population with two doses or at least one dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. This makes the region the second most vaccinated globally after Australia which has fully inoculated 76.6% of its population. Europe has vaccinated 61% of people, the US 61.5%, Asia 56.6%, and Africa just 9%.

Latin America has used a mix of jabs from China, Europe, and the US and has also been supported by the UN-led COVAX program that aims to distribute vaccinations in poorer nations. Two out of the four most vaccinated nations are also Latin American countries, specifically Chile which has 86% fully vaccinated people, and Cuba which has inoculated 85.4% of its residents. The first two positions are occupied by the United Arab Emirates with 90.6% and Portugal with 89.5%.

Why has Latin America been able to vaccinate more than others?

It emerged that Latin Americans were more willing than Europeans or Americans to be jabbed, partly because of years of successful campaigns promoting vaccinations, for instance against yellow fever. Even in Brazil, where President Jair Bolsonaro publicly tried to persuade people that COVID-19 was nothing but flu, over 67% of people are fully vaccinated.

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“The leap in vaccination rates is what took Brazil out of the center of the storm,” said Carlos Fortaleza, an epidemiologist at São Paulo State University.

For its part, Argentina has managed to vaccinate 71.6% of the population.

“This confidence, built up over several years, is based on the benefits of our extensive vaccination schedule,” said Leda Guzzi, a Buenos Aires-based infectious disease expert.

Even in poor El Salvador, the authorities have fully vaccinated two-thirds of the population (6.5 million people) and have therefore decided to donate over 30,000 vaccines to neighboring Honduras.

The worst may still be to come

The high vaccination rate has helped Latin America to escape the deadly wave it experienced in mid-2021 when it accounted for a third of all global COVID-19 deaths. Currently, the number of fatal cases in Latin America has fallen to 8% of the world’s total.

Nevertheless, challenges still remain. Guatemala is a weak spot as it has fully vaccinated only 25% of its population and Mexico, which is home to over 130 million people, has only secured the vaccination of about 56%.

Another problem is that high vaccination rates mostly occur in populations inhabiting big Latin American cities and richer areas whereas the rates are lower in rural and poorer areas. While in the wealthy Brazilian state of Sao Paulo 78% of people are fully vaccinated, in the poorer Amazonian state of Roraima only 40% have received the full dose.

Last but not least, many countries in the region have relied heavily on the Chinese vaccine, Coronavac. Initial studies indicate that while it was effective against all previous variants, it is not as efficient in the case of Omicron which has recently started to spread throughout the world.

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