President Irfaan Ali on Saturday told the Sixth Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) that never again must the region be held hostage to vaccine nationalism and it must therefore combine resources.
For months after the production of vaccines to battle the COVID-19 pandemic, Guyana and other countries in the region were unable to access the jabs as these were taken up by the developed world.
Guyana eventually succeeded in purchasing Russia’s Sputnik vaccine which is yet to be given emergency recognition by the World Health Organisation. Speaking at the Mexico City, Mexico summit, Ali told the leaders that CELAC, which comprises 33 Latin American and Caribbean countries, must never again be victims of vaccine nationalism.