The world’s inequality regarding covid is well showcased by looking at Latin America. When adjusted for population, it is in fact the region with the most deaths. On June 17, the four countries with the most deaths per million were Paraguay, Argentina, Uruguay and Colombia. Brazil and Peru were next. The comparison of these numbers with the rest of the world can be visualized well with this graph:
Colombia’s fight with the virus was profiled recently. The article included many frightening statistics like the following:
More than 25,000 cases are reported each day, with daily average deaths at 590 in the last week. Hospital networks across the country have collapsed, with ICU occupancy in the three largest cities – Bogotá, Medellín and Cali – hovering above 97%.
In contrast to these terrible statistics, Cuba’s official numbers are more mixed and show reasons for hope. While much of the country reports rising numbers, the capital Havana has cut infections by half. This success appears to be thanks to vaccines produced by Cuba’s state-run biotechnology industry. In fact, as one news agency reported, Cuba hopes to use their national vaccine project “to be among the first in the region to have vaccinated its whole population by year end”.
