Coronavirus: Haiti Facing a Wave

The last time I wrote about Haiti was this January. At the time, I was wondering about the lack of COVID-19 spread within the country. It was one of those countries early on that I felt for sure would face difficulty dealing with the virus. Yet per Worldometer, their next door neighbor, Dominican Republic, has had to deal with 11x the number of deaths as Haiti even though their populations are very similar. Back in January, it appeared that Haiti might be dealing with a second wave, but that wave quieted down. 

They're a poor country that has done very well at keep COVID-19 under control up until now. Some 5 months later; however, it looks like the country is dealing with a wave that at least matches what happened in May and June of 2020 and based on a couple articles I've read is worse than that wave.

Reuters via US News & World Report (June 9) reports:

COVID-19 treatment centers closed for lack of patients, Haitians resumed life as normal, and the government hesitated to even accept its allotment of free AstraZeneca vaccines through the U.N.-backed COVAX mechanism due to safety and logistical concerns.

Now, though, as some countries are already moving into a post-pandemic phase thanks to vaccination campaigns, Haiti is grappling with its first serious outbreak.

And it is one of only a handful of countries worldwide that has yet to administer a single shot of coronavirus vaccine.

Last month, infections and fatalities rose more than fivefold following the arrival of new variants, in what the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) called a "cautionary tale in just how quickly things can change with this virus."

The new variants that hit the country are the UK and Brazil variants. To me, it is interesting that these two new variants drove this significant wave. Yes, these variants are more infectious, but it isn't like Haiti ever got to zero COVID-19 infections. They've always had a low level of infections in the country. In between the first wave and smaller second wave, they always had some level of infection (looks like around 10 a day). The initial variants swept through the the United States and Europe so I do find it interesting that those initial variants never got a strong foothold in Haiti and it took the UK and Brazil variants to cause this current wave.

The Miami Herald (June 2) reports:

“We are still saturated,” said Dr. Marc Edson Augustin, the medical director of St. Luke Hospital in Port-au-Prince. “As soon as a bed gets available whether by a patient being discharged home or a death, it gets occupied. The strain is real.”

A sure sign that this current wave is significant is that hospitals are full. Also, like with stories from India, Haiti is in need of oxygen tanks.

. . . The hospital’s oxygen bill just for May was over $62,000. With 90 percent of its patients in need of oxygen tanks, it’s looking at a need of $718,000 for three-and-a half months for oxygen.

An initial batch of vaccines is set to arrive in the country shortly. 

. . . The first batch of COVID-19 vaccines, 130,000 doses of AstraZeneca from the U.N.-backed COVAX Facility, are expected to arrive in Haiti on June 14, Maes said.

This; however, would only provide a one shot vaccine to about 1.1% of the population or half that if they took the conservative route and made sure that everyone was guaranteed a second dose. So I'm not sure how much good it will do in reducing the spread of the virus. Hopefully, more vaccines will be arriving shortly. Also, just knowing how the roll out started in the United States, I'd say it will take a month for Haiti to get their vaccination campaign rolling. 

The question is: can Haiti keep the spread of COVID-19 contained for the next few months? And hopefully the even more infectious India variant doesn't show up in the country.