Latin America Needs Vaccines and Money

Latin America Needs Vaccines and Money
A nurse prepares a shot of the AstraZeneca vaccine for COVID-19 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Feb. 24, 2021 (AP photo by Natacha Pisarenko).

The worst of the coronavirus pandemic has receded considerably in countries with high vaccination rates, despite the new challenge posed by the more contagious delta variant. So far, this mostly means that rich countries are finding it possible to restart their economies safely, while lower- and middle-income countries, whose populations continue to be brutally battered by the pandemic, are struggling with massive public health demands, along with the economic and political crises ignited or worsened by COVID-19.

Nowhere is this relentless predicament more urgent than in Latin America, which is why multilateral organizations are urging the rich nations that have purchased most of the vaccine supplies—often in far greater quantities than they need—to make a concerted effort to accelerate the flow of vaccine doses to the region.

Last month, the World Health Organization, or WHO, urged the wealthy G-7 countries, which just pledged at the recent Cornwall summit to donate a billion vaccines worldwide, to prioritize Latin America, noting that nine of the 10 countries with the highest death rates are in South America and the Caribbean.

Keep reading for free!

Get instant access to the rest of this article by submitting your email address below. You'll also get access to three articles of your choice each month and our free newsletter:

Or, Subscribe now to get full access.

Already a subscriber? Log in here .

What you’ll get with an All-Access subscription to World Politics Review:

A WPR subscription is like no other resource — it’s like having a personal curator and expert analyst of global affairs news. Subscribe now, and you’ll get:

  • Immediate and instant access to the full searchable library of tens of thousands of articles.
  • Daily articles with original analysis, written by leading topic experts, delivered to you every weekday.
  • Regular in-depth articles with deep dives into important issues and countries.
  • The Daily Review email, with our take on the day’s most important news, the latest WPR analysis, what’s on our radar, and more.
  • The Weekly Review email, with quick summaries of the week’s most important coverage, and what’s to come.
  • Completely ad-free reading.

And all of this is available to you when you subscribe today.

More World Politics Review