COVID still devastating in the Americas, health agency says

COVID-19 continues to inflict a devastating toll on the Americas, with Argentina, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador and Paraguay among the countries with the world’s highest weekly death rates, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said on Wednesday.

Cases have more than doubled in the United States over the last week, mainly among unvaccinated people, PAHO Director Carissa Etienne said in a briefing. Cuba is seeing higher COVID infection and death rates than at any point in the pandemic there, she said.

So far, only 16.6% of the population of Latin America and the Caribbean has been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.