MEXICO CITY, July 26 (Xinhua) -- As new variants of COVID-19 emerge and spread rapidly, pushing Latin America toward the brink of a health emergency, the region must step up vaccination of its population, said Mexican allergist and infectious disease expert Gerardo Lopez Perez.

Lopez is among the medical experts who believe the slowdown in vaccination is one of the main causes of the variants' fast spreading.

The slowdown of the vaccine inoculation campaign in Mexico and Latin America has generated the spread of the new variants, and obviously these viruses have posed a considerable threat to human's immune response, Lopez told Xinhua in a virtual interview.

So far, 47 countries and territories across the Americas have detected at least one variant of concern, and 11 have detected all the four: Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta, the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization reported through the Regional Network for Genomic Surveillance of COVID-19.

While experts debate whether current vaccines can cope with the viral variants, their contribution is "very valuable" for providing some protection, said Lopez, adding that people who get vaccinated show an immune system response.

The debate mainly centered on the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2, which already appeared in almost 100 countries, and caused new outbreaks and in some cases, new economic lockdowns.

Another factor that worries Lopez is that young people are becoming a vulnerable group as they do not get vaccinated.

In Latin American, only Chile and Uruguay vaccinated more than half of the population, while Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico vaccinated a little more than a quarter of the population, according to the website Our World in Data.

By now, Mexico has aimed to complete over 75 percent of its immunization drive. Yet Lopez said there were only "a limited percentage" of the vaccinated people.

At the same time, Mexico and other regional countries hope to relax pandemic restrictions, a move that concerns Lopez, who is also a specialist in pediatrics.

The expert also called on education about health and specific protection measures, which are key to prevent the viral disease.

Everyone must learn that the severe reality requires mask wearing, just as one would leave the house with an umbrella and raincoat on a rainy day, he added.

Lopez urged people not to rely completely on vaccination, so as to avoid catching or spreading the virus. He also praised the international effort to develop vaccines for offering hope.

"All the countries and their industries that managed to produce one or more vaccines, as occurred in China, are to be commended. They are heroes to us all," Lopez said.

He voiced opposition to political manipulation of the virus origin tracing, calling it "truly pointless" to blame others. "Right now, what we are looking for are solutions not suspects." Enditem

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