Latin America's vaccine shortage threatens fragile revival as pandemic rages

People wait outside a vaccination centre to receive the vaccine against coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in La Paz, Bolivia April 21, 2021. REUTERS/Claudia Morales

BUENOS AIRES/LA PAZ/BOGOTA (Reuters) - Latin Americans, hard-hit by the coronavirus pandemic, are struggling to get vaccinated, a threat to the region's fragile economic recovery as lockdowns tighten amid a dangerous surge of infections and rising death tolls.

The region of some 660 million people has recorded almost 30% of the world's 3.2 million COVID-19 deaths to date, despite being home to just 8% of the world's population. While countries in Africa and Asia also lag behind Europe and North America on inoculations, health experts say Latin America's need for vaccines is the most urgent.