Analysis – COVID-19 South America now wins Reuters vaccine race worldwide

Gram Slattery and Augustin Geist

RIO DE JANEIRO / BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – For much of 2020 and early 2021, South America was zero in the global fight against COVID-19.

Oxygen was depleted in Peru. The gravediggers worked at night in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The bodies were shipped to Guayaquil, Ecuador.

Brazil, the largest country in Latin America, saw its COVID-19 death toll rise to the second highest in the world, with Argentina and Peru experiencing one of the highest deaths per capita anywhere.

But in recent months, despite mixed health services and lower incomes than in Europe or the United States, the region has emerged as an unexpected winner in the vaccine race.

South America is currently the most vaccinated region in the world, with 63.3% of the population fully vaccinated, according to the Our World in Data project, which includes official numbers of governments around the world.

In second place is Europe, with 60.7%. In Africa, 8.8% of the population is fully vaccinated.

The infection and death rate fell by almost half of all deaths and infections in Latin America and the Caribbean compared to the middle of the year. Now it’s Europe where – due to the spread of the Omicron variant – pollution is recovering.

Epidemiologists point to several factors to explain the impetus for rapid vaccinations. But most importantly, they say it has been a successful vaccination campaign for decades that has created the infrastructure needed to provide massive ownership, building confidence among the population.

In Brazil, the successful vaccination against smallpox, meningitis, polio and measles in the last half century means that there are few people against vaccines, said epidemiologist Paulo Lotufo and a professor at the University of Sao Paulo.

In some major cities, including Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, more than 99% of the adult population has received at least one dose, authorities say. Brazilians usually proudly claim that the nation has a “culture of vaccination” or “culture of vaccination.”

The same can be said for many other nations in the region, which have launched extensive inoculation campaigns following the outbreak of traumatic infectious diseases in recent decades.

“This trust, built over the years, is based on the benefits of our extensive vaccination schedule,” said Leda Guzzi, an infectious disease expert living in Buenos Aires.

Effective public health messages have also been key, said Albert Kok, a professor at the Yale School of Public Health and a collaborating researcher at the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation in Rio de Janeiro.

In Brazil, for example, many pet-like pets, known as “Zé Gotinha”, have been used by health officials to promote the vaccine, although President Jair Bolsonaro himself has refused.

Earlier this year, dance star MC Fioti released a viral video with a modified version of his hit, along with the Butantan Biomedical Institute in Sao Paulo, to promote the vaccine.

COLLECT STORM CLOUDS

The region, however, is out of the woods, especially as the Omicron variant spreads around the world.

Although an impressive 63.3% of the population is vaccinated, the region remains below the threshold that most scientists say is necessary to provide massive protection. Omicron is now angry in much of Europe, despite a similar level of inoculation.

Among children, vaccination rates also vary significantly from one Latin American country to another, as authorities in Mexico and Brazil are relatively slow to allow shootings for minors.

Another potential problem is the use of vaccines.

Many countries, such as Chile, Uruguay and Brazil, relied heavily on Coronavac, a vaccine produced by China’s Sinovac Biotech Ltd, especially in the early stages of their vaccinations.

Although the vaccine receives rapid blows to the arms, its effectiveness is lower than that of its members, and at least some initial research has indicated that it may not have antibodies against the Omicron variant. In early December, the World Health Organization (WHO) said that Sinovac’s recipients – as well as all other “inactivated” vaccines – should be strengthened.

Epidemiologists also say that Omicron may be better able to prevent the immunity caused by previous COVID-19 infections. The bad news may be that the virus has spread across entire neighborhoods in the pre-pandemic stages of the virus.

“It has infected a lot of people, especially in vulnerable Brazilian communities,” the Ko Yale epidemiologist said. “We see that this virus infects people who were previously infected.”