How the Omicron crisis unfolds in Latin America

After a catastrophic second wave turned South America into the world’s epicenter of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, the region had enjoyed a seemingly miraculous reversal of fortunes last year. Boasting the world’s highest vaccination rates, new Covid-19 infections and deaths plunged to the lowest levels seen since the pandemic began. Roughly 77 percent of South America’s population has taken at least one dose of coronavirus vaccine — with 65 percent being fully immunized. 

Local economies – which are largely dependent on the informal sector and, therefore, in-person interactions – had hoped a stellar vaccine rollout would signal a return to normality. 

But the arrival of the Omicron variant earlier this year has shattered those hopes. As the 2022 new year rolled in, countries such as Argentina broke new records of daily cases, and within a matter of weeks, Brazil has experienced the sharpest rise in infections seen at any point of the pandemic.

Adding to the concern is the fact that tracking the spread of Covid-19, as well as identifying new variants, has been lackluster at best in various South American nations. In Argentina, the number of positive tests surged by 50 percent last week alone, but health authorities have warned that the actual total could be even higher.

Jorge Geffner, a professor at the University of Buenos Aires’s Medical School, told newspaper La Nación...