99% people dying of COVID-19 are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated: PAHO Director

Roseau, Dominica: Prime Minister of Dominica Dr Roosevelt Skerrit invited Pan American Health Organization Director Dr Carissa F. Etienne on his weekly show. They both discussed the impact of coronavirus in the Caribbean and Latin America. Speaking about coronavirus vaccines, Dr Carissa F. Etienne said 94 to 99 percent of the people dying from COVID-19 are unvaccinated. She said there are solid proofs that vaccines work, and one must take the type of dose that is immediately available to them. She also added the pandemic could only be controlled if people get vaccinated and follow public health measures. "Around 94 to 99 percent of the people 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 afterwards so we see as I say that the efficacy wins over time," said Dr Etienne.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyMt3Fc_IkQ

Showing her concerns about Dominica, Dr Etienne said hundreds of people are frequently taking COVID-19 testings as per the guidelines proposed by their workplaces for unvaccinated individuals, "Tests is not what is going to save you; it is the vaccine," said Dr Etienne. She said such persons must get their coronavirus tests commercially.

"At some stage, you have to consider letting people pay forum 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,"

She also asked the Dominican people to follow the health guidelines and support the government in reducing the coronavirus infection rate.

"It is important that Dominicans recognize that no government has an unending source of income if we want our economy and our social way of life to improve and to get back to where we were we are going to have to make some changes in our way of life, we are going to have to accept what are some of the measures that will reduce COVID-19 rates," Director of Pan American Health Organization.

Dr Etienne also said the unemployment caused by the pandemic has had the worse impact on women and indigenous populations of the Caribbean and Latin America. She said as per the reports by the Economic Commission on Latin America and the Caribbean, it will take years to get back to the standard economic levels. She said the virus affected the economies and social sectors that are hard to recover from until the situation comes into play. She said many countries' experienced a decrease in GDP (Gross Domestic Product). She said many people lost their jobs during the pandemic, making things much harder for people who are living in extreme poverty.

99% people dying of COVID-19 are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated: PAHO Director

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