Panama, with a population of 3 million, has acquired 5.5 million doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. It’s become the first in the region to start a mass vaccination campaign that could make them the first country to achieve herd immunity. 

The early negotiations with the pharmaceutical companies developing the COVID-19 vaccines placed them among the countries in Latin America with the most superior vaccination strategy. Panama’s small population and territory also positioned it to be one of the first to be fully immunized in the Americas. 

Vaccinations started in January when the first shipment of doses arrived in the country. That came after a full lockdown had been implemented due to more than 250,000 cases reported and more than 4,000 deaths.

Harris Whitbeck reports on how Panama was able to get on the path to herd immunity in a relatively short amount of time.