Private vaccine rollouts begin to take hold in Latin America

Latin American governments find themselves in a tough position: Covid-19 cases in most countries are either trending upward or have plateaued at high levels, hospitals are running out of beds, and vaccination campaigns have stalled in all but a few nations. Private firms have lobbied for the right to import immunizers and distribute them themselves, claiming they would be more effective in getting jabs into arms than the public sector. 

In many countries, the private sector’s early pressure moves have been successful.

Colombia became the latest country in the region to allow companies to purchase vaccines directly from laboratories. Health regulator Invima imposed some conditions: private firms must distribute shots free of charge, and adhere to the government’s priority vaccination list. Moreover, President Iván Duque argued that only trained health workers be used to administer private jabs, in order to reduce the risk of scams.

The government hopes the measure will reinforce public efforts and increase vaccination coverage in the country. Less than 5 percent of the...