This time the Director of PAHO (Pan American Health Organisation) – Dr. Carissa F. Etienne, was invited by Dominican Prime Minister – Roosevelt Skerrit at his weekly show – ‘Annou Pale’ on Sunday, where both of them held a discussion on COVID vaccination rate in the Caribbean & Latin American region, and its impact on the regions’ economy.
The Director highlighted the sole way to beat this outbreak is to get vaccinated and strictly follow the COVID-19 health protocols and guidelines, noting that the reports show between 94 to 99 percent of the people who are losing their lives to COVID are unvaccinated.
“About 94 to 99 percent of the individuals who are dying in hospital or admitted with severe illness are not vaccinated, and some of them are only partially vaccinated, so we know that those vaccines work, and we tell people the best vaccine for you is the one that is available to you and then afterward so we see as I say that the efficacy wins over time,” said Dr. Etienne.
Dr. Etienne said that following the guidelines of their workplaces, some people undergo COVID-19 testing weekly, “Testing will not save you, vaccines will”, she emphasized. She noted that such individuals should not waste the government resources and start getting commercial testing done or get vaccinated.
Following the statement, she added that such individuals should be charged for the coronavirus tests, adding, “At some stage, you have to consider letting people pay for those tests the government has provided you with vaccines they provided you with the information if you if you want to go and expose yourself, then pay for it”.
Further talking about the impact of the COVID-19 mutant on the economy, she noted that the unemployment caused by the outbreak had a worse effect on women and on the indigenous populations of Latin America and the Caribbean.
Dr. Etinne stated it is hard to recover damaged economies until the situation gets situation comes into play, highlighting that more than tens of thousands of people lost their job, while nations across the world saw a massive decline in their Gross Domestic Product – GDP. She added that it is difficult for the countries to get back to their economic levels.
Besides this, Dr. Etinne encouraged the Dominican population to get themselves vaccinated as soon as possible.