Puerto Rican respiratory therapist Yahaira Alicea became one of the first people in Latin America and the Caribbean to get a vaccine against Covid-19, months after being aboard a cruise ship to treat an Italian couple, the first two confirmed cases on the island back in March.
Ms. Alicea’s vaccination signaled the start of the vaccination season in Latin America. In Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the U.S., planes arrived carrying more than 16,500 vaccines from pharmaceutical company Pfizer, to be distributed in at least 65 Puerto Rican hospitals.
Governor Wanda Vázquez expects to immunize 70 percent of the island between now and mid-2021.
Across the region, the Covid-19 caused over 14.3 million confirmed cases and 477,630 deaths. However, while the virus spared no-one in Latin America, the same cannot be said for the region’s vaccination plans. While regulatory agencies in Mexico and Chile have already approved the Pfizer vaccine, Brazil and Peru are still far from deciding on definitive national immunization plans.
The Brazilian Report has taken a look around Latin America, charting where each country stands in the process of vaccinating their populations.
Argentina
Gabriela Fillón, a pediatrician from Santa Fé, became the first Argentinian to officially receive the vaccine. However, she received immunization from the British government, being a resident of London. Back in her homeland, the vaccination situation is less clear.
On December 14, President...
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