The Pan American Health Organisation warns that hospitals in the region are dangerously full and that ICU capacity cannot be expanded indefinitely

Intensive care units in the Americas fill up with young people with coronaviruses

photo_camera OPS/Karen González - Colombia was one of the first countries in the Americas to receive the COVID-19 vaccine through the COVAX Service

Intensive care units in the Americas not only house older people infected with the coronavirus, but are also filling up with younger and younger patients, the Pan American Health Organisation warned on Wednesday during its weekly press briefing to assess the evolution of the pandemic in the region.

The Organisation's director, Dr Carissa Etienne, explained that hospitalisation rates among those under 39 years of age increased by more than 70% in Chile; that in Brazil, the largest increases in hospitalisations have occurred among people in their 40s; and that in some areas of the United States, more people in their 20s are hospitalised for COVID-19 than people in their 70s.

Etienne noted that adults of various ages, including young people, are becoming seriously ill and even dying.
"In Brazil, mortality rates have doubled among those under 39, quadrupled among those in their 40s and tripled for those in their 50s between December 2020 and March 2021," he revealed.

Las vacunas COVID-19 son esenciales para acabar con la pandemia, pero no son la única herramienta. Unsplash/Ivan Diaz

While she highlighted the remarkable regional work to expand hospital capacity during 2020, noting that "Colombia, Panama and the Dominican Republic doubled their ICU bed capacity, while Chile and Peru tripled theirs and Mexico and Honduras almost quadrupled their capacities in just one year," she explained that hospitals across the Americas are dangerously full.

The head of the Organisation stressed that "ICU capacity cannot be expanded indefinitely" because there are "not enough health workers to recruit and train in time".

"Which brings us back to the best option: we must all recommit ourselves to a comprehensive response based on prevention and maintenance of care for COVID-19 and other conditions".

PAHO does not recommend adolescent vaccination at this time

With the announcement of the upcoming licensing of adolescent vaccines by regulatory agencies in the United States and Europe, PAHO Deputy Director Dr Jarbas Barbosa reminded that the highest priority for vaccination is currently given to health workers and people suffering from chronic diseases.

"We do not recommend using vaccines in adolescents at this time, firstly because studies on safety and efficacy have not been completed, and also because they are not priority groups," Barbosa said.

Un trabajador sanitario se prepara para administrar la vacuna COVID-19 en Brasil. OPS/Karina Zambrana
There is only one case of the Indian variant in the entire region

Asked about the presence of the Indian variant of the coronavirus in the region, Dr Sylvain Aldighieri, Incident Manager for COVID-19, said that so far only one case has been reported in Mexico and it has not currently been detected in any other country.

36 million doses of modern vaccine this year

Following last Friday's inclusion of the Moderna vaccine on the World Health Organisation's emergency use list and the pharmaceutical company's announcement that it will deliver 500 million doses to the COVAX mechanism, Dr Barbosa clarified that only 36 million doses will be delivered this year and that the rest will be delivered during the first half of 2022.

*COVAX is part of an unprecedented global effort to provide vaccines for at least 20% of the population in each participating country by 2021 to protect those most at risk of severe forms of COVID-19 and save lives. In the Americas, 36 countries will receive vaccines through the COVAX Facility, of which 26 will be self-funded and ten will be free of charge.

The Pan American Health Organization's Revolving Fund is the designated COVAX mechanism for procuring vaccines on behalf of countries in the region.

COVAX is co-led by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the World Health Organization and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), and works in partnership with UNICEF, the PAHO Revolving Fund, as well as the World Bank, civil society organisations, manufacturers and others.

More in Society