While there is no definitive word on a timeline for the availability of COVID-19 vaccines in Latin America and the Caribbean, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) announced this week that it will use US $ 1 billion to help countries in the region. acquisition and distribution of the vaccine. The money the IDB is raising is likely to support an earlier US $ 1.2 billion commitment made by the Bank in response to the pandemic earlier this year as well as other funds that have ‘ programmed for 2021. These funds are intended to save lives by funding public health measures, including improved testing and tracking and the enhanced quality of clinical governance of pandemic victims.
And in what would appear to be a preparatory process for the administration of the vaccine, the IDB is issuing a call on the Latin American and Caribbean governments to double their efforts to prepare national vaccination and placement plans. IDB President Mauricio Claver-Carone was quoted earlier this week as saying that the Bank is expanding its support “to help Latin American and Caribbean countries secure timely access to safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines.”