Friend,

In the United States, COVID-19 vaccines are widely available to anyone who wants one, but this unfortunately is not the case in most of the countries we serve. Peru, for example, currently has the highest COVID-19 mortality rate in the world, but has struggled to get access to vaccines.

In response to this ongoing crisis, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) expanded its emergency intervention measures in May to a new facility in the southeastern city of Cusco to care for patients with COVID-19. Teams are also active in the city of Huacho—supporting the regional hospital’s intensive care unit, treating patients who need oxygen in a dedicated facility, and working in community health care centers to improve screening and referrals.

Only 15 percent of Peruvians have received their first COVID-19 vaccine dose and only 10 percent are fully vaccinated. This is consistent with vaccination rates we’re seeing in many middle- and low-income countries, where vaccine access has been largely dependent on wealthier countries sharing vaccine doses. At the end of June, the US announced it was shipping 2 million doses to Peru, however the country still needs more vaccines to protect the population.

"With the presence of multiple variants ... as long as people are unprotected, the curve may start ascending again,” warned Francesco Segoni, MSF emergency coordinator in Peru. Mobile teams, which have been able to provide home care to around 120 people every week, have worked with the Peruvian Ministry of Health to vaccinate more than 1,000 people with a first COVID-19 shot.

Take a moment to learn more about MSF’s response to the COVID-19 crisis in Peru.

MSF is prepared to provide care and humanitarian aid where needs are greatest, but we know that the people we serve will be facing the worst of this pandemic until COVID-19 vaccines are more widely available.

This pandemic won’t be over for anyone until it’s over for everyone, everywhere. That is why, in addition to fighting the spread of COVID-19 in vulnerable communities, we are advocating for wider vaccine manufacturing and distribution—and we encourage you to join us. Look out for upcoming opportunities to support our demand for vaccine equity.