Colombia was one of the first countries in the Americas to receive the COVID-19 vaccine through the COVAX Facility. Credit: PAHO/Karen González
BRUSSELS / ROME, May 10 2021 (IPS) - The news of the Biden Administration’s willingness to lift intellectual property rights protections in the case of the Covid-19 pandemic has sent the world into turmoil, even though in recent days this willingness had become increasingly airy.
Big step forward? Victory for the “South” and the movements that have been fighting for this (including, for more than a year, the Agora of the Earth’s Inhabitants – agora-humanite.org – even though from the beginning we considered that the provisional suspension was a “par défaut” solution)?
Colombia receives the first vaccines arriving in the Americas through COVAX
March 3, 2021
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Colombia today became the first country in the Americas to receive COVID-19 vaccines through the COVAX Facility, marking an historic step toward the goal of ensuring equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines in the region and worldwide.
The delivery is part of the “First Wave” initiative, a global pilot program in which some countries receive early delivery of a limited number of doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine as part of their total allotted quota. More doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech and AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccines are expected to arrive in coming weeks in the 36 countries participating in the mechanism in the region.
Governments push for Universal Health Coverage as COVID-19 continues to devastate communities and economies
Universal health coverage (UHC) is an ambitious goal that the world can t afford to miss. The lessons that countries are currently learning from the COVID-19 pandemic all underscore that investing in health for all is not optional. Stable, equitable, prosperous and peaceful societies and economies are only possible when no one is left behind. This crisis is an opportunity to seize the moment to make changes that benefit both UHC and health security.
The UHC Partnership, one of WHO s largest initiatives for international cooperation for UHC, supports countries to strengthen the foundations of their health systems to boost their COVID-19 response, enhance preparedness for impending health emergencies, and ensure that everyone, especially the most vulnerable, can access the essential health services they need without experiencing financial hardship.
December 9, 2020
Studies show that telling people about the quality, safety, effectiveness, and availability of vaccines is not enough to influence behaviour change related to immunisation. For this reason, it is necessary to understand the reasons why people choose not to get vaccinated or not get their children vaccinated, in order to begin a two-way respectful dialogue. Such a dialogue must incorporate emotional elements, enhance personal narratives, and use evidence-based communication techniques. Given this context, the main objective of these guidelines is to support health workers in their dialogue with parents/caregivers and patients, with the aim of strengthening, maintaining, or recovering trust in vaccines and the immunisation programmes in the Region of the Americas.