While there is no definitive word regarding a timeline for the availability of COVID-19 vaccinations in Latin America and the Caribbean, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) announced this week that it will be mobilising US$1 billion to help countries in the region acquire and distribute the vaccine. The funds which the IDB is in the process of raising will reportedly supplement an earlier US$1.2 billion commitment which the Bank had made in response to the pandemic earlier this year as well as other funds which have been programmed for 2021. These funds are intended to save lives by financing public health measures, including enhanced testing and tracing and a higher quality of clinical management of victims of the pandemic.
And in what would appear to be a preparatory process for the administering of the vaccine, the IDB is issuing a call for Latin America and Caribbean governments to redouble their efforts to prepare national deployment and vaccination plans. IDB President Mauricio Claver-Carone was quoted earlier this week as saying that the Bank was expanding its support “to help Latin America and Caribbean countries ensure timely access to safe and effective COVID-19 vaccinations.”