COVID-19 variants in Latin America 2023| ��ƽ��

Share of COVID-19 cases in selected countries in Latin America as of July 2023, by variant

Characteristic	Omicron (BA.4)	Omicron (BA.5)	Omicron (BA.2.75)	Omicron (BQ.1)	Omicron (XBB)	Omicron (XBB.1.5)	Omicron (XBB.1.16)	Omicron (CH.1.1)	Omicron (XBB.1.9)	Omicron (XBB.2.3)	Omicron (EG.5.1)	Recombinant	Others
Mexico*	0%	0%	0%	0.7%	0%	53.15%	27.27%	0%	10.49%	4.2%	4.2%	0%	-0.01%
Colombia**	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	80.56%	2.78%	0%	13.89%	1.85%	0.93%	0%	-0.01%
Peru**	0.79%	3.17%	0%	0%	2.38%	90.48%	0%	0%	0%	3.17%	0%	0%	0.01%
Brazil**	0%	0%	0%	0%	11.88%	75%	2.5%	0%	3.12%	7.5%	0%	0%	0%
Costa Rica***	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	73.95%	1.68%	0%	5.04%	19.33%	0%	0%	0%
Chile****	0%	0%	0%	1.96%	5.88%	80.39%	2.94%	0.98%	5.88%	0.98%	0%	0.98%	0.01%
Argentina	0.78%	7.75%	2.33%	75.97%	10.08%	2.33%	0%	0.78%	0%	0%	0%	0%	-0.02%
Ecuador*	0%	4.31%	0.86%	72.41%	20.69%	0.86%	0%	0.86%	0%	0%	0%	0%	0.01%

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Release date

September 2023

More information

Region

Latin America and the Caribbean

Survey time period

2023

Special properties

considers only analyzed sequences of SARS-CoV-2 in the precedent two weeks

Supplementary notes

Release date corresponds to the date of access.

Results may not express the complete case variants by country in detail because only a share of proves are sequenced. New discovered variants and those actively monitored could be overrepresented due to targeting and difference on sequencing speed.

* As of July 31, 2023.
** As of July 17, 2023.
*** As of June 19, 2023.
**** As of May 8, 2023.
As of January 30, 2023.
* As of January 16, 2023.

Citation formats

As of July 2023, the Omicron variant was the most prevalent among selected countries in Latin America. The share of COVID-19 cases corresponding to the Omicron variant amounted to 100 percent of the analyzed sequences of SARS-CoV-2 in Colombia. The variant Omicron (XBB.1.5) accounted for nearly 81 percent of the sequenced cases in the country, while Omicron (XBB.1.9) added up to 14 percent. Similarly, Peru reported over 90 percent of its reviewed sequences corresponding to the variant Omicron (XBB.1.5), while Omicron (XBB) accounted for around 2.4 percent of cases studied.

A regional overview

The Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 - the virus causing COVID-19 - was designated as a variant of concern by the World Health Organization in November 2021. Since then, it has been rapidly spreading, causing an unprecedented increase in the number of cases reported worldwide. In Latin America, Brazil had been the most affected country by the disease already before the emergence of the Omicron variant, with nearly 37.4 million cases and around 701,494 confirmed deaths as of May 2, 2023. However, it is Peru that has the largest mortality rate per 100,000 inhabitants due to the SARS-Cov-2 in the region, with roughly 672 deaths per 100,000 people.

Vaccination campaigns in Latin America

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to cause social and economic harm worldwide, most Latin American and Caribbean countries advance their immunization programs. As of August 14, 2023, Brazil had administered the largest number of vaccines in the region, with over 486.4 million doses. Mexico and Argentina followed, with about 223.1 million and 116 million COVID-19 doses administered, respectively. However, Cuba had the highest vaccination rate not only in the region, but also the world, with around 391 vaccines given per 100 people.

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