 The ministries are again encouraging all residents of St. Lucia to get vaccinated to protect themselves, their family and the wider society against COVID-19. A total of 29,023 individuals have received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and 20,042 of those have also received the second dose. The COVID-19 vaccination drive continues at sites, island-wide. Maintime director of the Pan-American Health Organization has made another appeal for access to vaccines in the hemisphere. Dr. Carissa Atien says in the Caribbean, Trinidad and Tobago reported the largest spike in COVID-19 infections and deaths over the past month, while hospitalizations in Haiti continue to stretch the country's oxygen supplies. Dr. Atien says the region desperately needs more doses of COVID-19 vaccines. While we need more doses everywhere, the countries at greatest risk where vaccines have been slowest to arrive and even where vulnerable populations have yet to be protected, these countries urgently need more vaccines. We are thankful for the United States government's decision to donate an initial 6 million doses to countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. Spain has also generously donated 5 million doses to Latin America and the Caribbean. And we are so grateful to Canada, which has committed 50 million Canadian dollars to expand access to COVID-19 vaccines in the region. We hope that other countries, particularly those with excess doses at global financial institutions, will follow in the footsteps to provide the support that we need to protect the 70 per cent of our population that will not be covered under COVID-19. Dr. Carissa Atien says it is important that countries rely on the science as the region pushes towards vaccination. This virus has been extensively researched. Treatments and vaccines have undergone rigorous testing and global institutions like the WHO and PAHO are continuing to update guidance based on the latest available evidence. We urge countries to use this guidance and focus on what works. Unproven treatments must be studied in the realm of clinical trials, not promoted for political gain while patients are made more vulnerable by embracing strategies that don't work. As we look to the months ahead, we must remember that the decisions we take will affect our collective ability to control this virus. If current trends continue, the health, social and economic disparities in our region will grow even larger, and it will be years before we control this virus in the Americas. But by working together, we can limit the spread of COVID-19. We can move closer to a more equal world and fulfill our promise of health for all. Director of PAHO, Dr. Carissa Atien.