Achieving herd immunity in South America
1
Issued Date
2023-12-01
Resource Type
eISSN
23970642
Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85147235149
Pubmed ID
36726143
Journal Title
Global Health Research and Policy
Volume
8
Issue
1
Rights Holder(s)
SCOPUS
Bibliographic Citation
Global Health Research and Policy Vol.8 No.1 (2023)
Suggested Citation
Lucero-Prisno D.E., Shomuyiwa D.O., Vicente C.R., Méndez M.J.G., Qaderi S., Lopez J.C., Mogessie Y.G., Alacapa J., Chamlagai L., Ndayizeye R., Kinay P. Achieving herd immunity in South America. Global Health Research and Policy Vol.8 No.1 (2023). doi:10.1186/s41256-023-00286-2 Retrieved from: https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/123456789/81359
Title
Achieving herd immunity in South America
Author's Affiliation
Johns Hopkins Carey Business School
University of the Philippines Open University
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Federal University of Espirito Santo
Mahidol University
Brown University
University of Prince Edward Island
University of Lagos
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Duke University School of Medicine
The George Washington University
Harvard Medical School
Global Health Focus South America
University of the Philippines Open University
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Federal University of Espirito Santo
Mahidol University
Brown University
University of Prince Edward Island
University of Lagos
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Duke University School of Medicine
The George Washington University
Harvard Medical School
Global Health Focus South America
Other Contributor(s)
Abstract
South America, once an epicenter of COVID-19, has stayed on the road of continued management of the pandemic. The region initially struggled to cope with the pandemic as it experienced spiraling numbers of infections and overwhelmed public health systems. South America has risen in its pandemic response to be the region with the highest global vaccination rate. The region posed a strong vaccination drive, with over 76% of its population fully vaccinated with the initial protocol. South America leveraged its deeply rooted vaccination culture and public health confidence among its population. Herd immunity is an integral concept in population infectious disease management. Attaining herd immunity is presently not feasible with available vaccines, but the high vaccination rate in the region depicts the acceptance of vaccination as a strategy for population protection. The availability of effective transmission-blocking vaccines, the continuous implementation of strategies that will enable the undisrupted supply of the vaccines, equity in access to the vaccines, improved vaccine acceptance, and trust in the vaccination and public health systems will help shepherd the region towards herd immunity. Local vaccine production backed with investment in infrastructure and international collaboration for research and knowledge development will also drive population safety.