In the beginning, men were more likely to get sick from Covid-19, however, now that trend is reversing and “has a disproportionate impact on women,” warned the director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Carissa F. Etienne.
During a press conference, Carissa F. Etienne explained that women have the same probability of developing the disease and are more vulnerable on many other fronts. In addition, he said that countries must recognize and respond to the gender dynamics of this outbreak to overcome this pandemic.
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“Women, who represent 70 percent of health services workers globally, have faced enormous personal risk offering care to Covid patients, even with little protective equipment, “Etienne said.
So far, more than one million health workers in the Americas have contracted Covid-19 and four thousand of these have lost their lives, mostly women.
The impact of Covid-19 on health, social and economic are disproportionately affecting, for which he called for pay greater attention to gender disparities during the pandemic.
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This begins with ensuring that women and girls can access the health services they require, especially during this time of crisis, and includes hotlines to respond to the gender violence and sexual and reproductive health services, services that are essential. “
Carissa F. Etienne described that “during this pandemic, many women have been forced to quit their jobs to take care of their families, affecting both their income and well-being, and ongoing measures to stay at home, along with other economic stresses, are increasing the risks of domestic violence. For many women, the home is not a safe space. “
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Regarding the vaccine issue, he pointed out that 36 countries in the region that participate in the COVAX mechanism, a global platform to equitably distribute the doses against Covid-19, were notified that more than 35 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine are expected to begin. to arrive at the end of February.
Last weekend, the countries received letters from COVAX detailing the number of doses assigned to them.
When addressing the issue of the three new variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the diplomat reported that they have been detected in 20 countries of the Americas, although the frequency is still limited. These variants have raised concerns about the possible increase in transmissions.
Etienne also updated on the situation of the pandemic in the region. Last week, more than 1.8 million people in the Americas were infected with Covid-19 and more than 47,000 died.
In North America, Covid-19 infections decrease in the United States and Canada, while in Mexico cases and deaths continue to rise.
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“We are observing that cities, provinces and countries that had previously managed to control the Covid-19 outbreaks are now experiencing rallies, in many cases the most devastating in our region and beyond.”
The PAHO director said that “this should serve as a lesson that keeping the virus at bay is not a one-time effort, but a constant commitment while transmission is still active.”
