As we enter the time of year for reflection and celebration, give a gift to your friends and family by getting vaccinated 💉 when it’s your turn.
There is no room for complacency because we’ve already faced the consequences of an uncontrolled pandemic 🦠 and we don’t want to be in that position again.
Mask wearing 😷, social distancing and avoiding large gatherings, especially indoors, will remain important – even as more of us get vaccinated
PAHO is working to expand vaccine access in the region 🌎, especially in places that are falling behind.
But vaccines 💉 are not the only tool to protect us against COVID.
As we’ve seen in the US, Chile, Cuba, Uruguay, Canada, Panama, El Salvador, and other countries where most of the population is immunized, these vaccines have helped lower ⬇️ hospital bed occupancy.
But over the last year, more than 1.3 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered in the Americas 🌎, giving us protection against serious COVID illness that would often require hospitalization.
Our hospitals 🏥 offer the best proof of the power of these vaccines.
Mere months ago, hospital beds and intensive care units across our region were at capacity, leaving many COVID patients with nowhere to turn.
The @WHO has authorized eight COVID-19 vaccines that are safe and effective against this virus 🦠
Other vaccines 💉 have been approved by national regulatory authorities in several countries.
That’s why today I want to urge 2️⃣ main messages.
👉🏽 vaccines work
👉🏽 public health measures are key to reducing the spread of this virus.
This year, we’re better off than the last for one simple reason: we have more tools to protect ourselves from this virus 🦠
