WASHINGTON, D.C. – As the COVID-19 outbreak reaches its third year in the Americas, millions of children are missing out on routine vaccinations, putting countries at risk of losing two decades of immunization progress, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Director Dr. Carissa Etienne has warned.

WASHINGTON, D.C. –The World Bank says wastewater testing provides a relatively economic method whereby countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) can improve their detection, diagnosis, control, and monitoring systems for viruses that cause diseases like the coronavirus (COVID-19) and its variants.

GEORGETOWN, Guyana – Guyana Monday said it is moving towards establishing a ‘one health agenda,’ aimed at harmonizing and advancing the country’s food chain while achieving the highest international food standards.

KINGSTON, Jamaica – Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Dr. Jacquiline Bisasor-McKenzie, is reporting that the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) is now in 75 percent of communities across the island, with 828 hospital admissions.

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad – The Ministry of Health says that it will consult with the relevant stakeholders before rolling out Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines for 5 to 11-year-olds.

KINGSTON, Jamaica – Health Minister Dr. Christopher Tufton has hinted at the possibility of Jamaica not achieving the target of having 65 percent of the population vaccinated against the coronavirus (COVID-19) by the end of March this year.

KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent – Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves has announced his government will begin bonding locally-trained nurses to work in the country, against the background of a significant number of those health care employees opting to work overseas.

HAMILTON, Bermuda – The Bermuda government lifted a night-time curfew imposed just before Christmas on Thursday, but a US watchdog has advised travelers to steer clear of the island because of COVID-19 risks.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Dr. Carissa Etienne Wednesday called on countries to prioritize rapid antigen tests for those with the COVID-19 symptoms and who are most at risk of spreading the disease.

KINGSTON, Jamaica – Jamaican health authorities said that all public hospitals will from Wednesday be restricted to conducting emergency care services only blaming the increased cases of patients suffering from the coronavirus (COVID-19) for the situation.

GEORGETOWN, Guyana – The Guyana government Tuesday announced the immediate end to the issuing of discharge certificates to people in home isolation, saying that the significant increase in the number of people contracting the coronavirus (COVID-19) had led to a  “clogging up of the system”.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – A new study on vaccine hesitancy in six Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries has found that out of formal work and educated to secondary level is the typical profile of the person refusing the vaccine to combat the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.