Latin American countries will not get enough Covid-19 vaccines for months when they come available and they should develop immunisation plans focusing first on health workers and the elderly, the World Health Organization advised.

Its regional branch for the Americas, PAHO, warned that vaccines being developed now will take months to arrive and supplies might not become sufficient until after 2021, AFP reported.

Countries should at first aim to vaccinate 20 per cent of the population, giving priority to medical workers and people over 65 and those that have prior health conditions, PAHO said.

“It will take many months to receive the vaccines needed to interrupt the transmission of coronavirus,” said Jarbas Barbosa, assistant director of the Pan American Health Organisation.