| South America, a region of 420 million people stretching from the Caribbean Sea to Antarctica, has been particularly punished during the coronavirus pandemic. With 24% of global Covid deaths despite representing just 6% of the population, the region's health systems were overrun, economies pummeled and about 20 million people were pushed into poverty. So the sudden — and somewhat mysterious — improvement seen over the last several months has been a light at the end of the tunnel for many. As a share of global cases and deaths, South America represents just 6% and 9% over a trailing seven-day period, compared with 38% and 44% at the peak of the second wave in June. Countries are once again opening their doors to foreign visitors, fans are beginning to trickle back into soccer stadiums and some outdoor mask mandates are being lifted.  So what's behind the sharp turnaround? Health experts consulted from Colombia, Chile and Brazil point to several factors. Vaccine hesitancy is extremely low in the region as people are used to getting shots for diseases such as yellow fever, malaria, meningitis and tuberculosis. So the Covid-19 shot is just another line on their vaccination cards. While vaccine campaigns started late in the region, and still suffer from a lack of supplies, countries have picked up the pace in the past few months. Chile and Uruguay have nearly fully inoculated 75% of their population while six of the 10 major nations have given at least a first shot to more than 50% of people. In the Brazilian mega-cities of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, about 99% of eligible adults have received at least a first dose. Another factor at play is the fact that the region was ground zero for the outbreak of the gamma and lambda variants which were born deep in the Amazon and in the Andes, respectively. Those variants, like delta, are considered more contagious and were behind the rapid and deadly second wave that swept the region in the first half of 2021. That means a lot of the population had already been exposed to or tested positive for Covid, and also that delta has thus far been crowded out to some degree by the similar mutations already present in South America. "Vaccination occurred in an environment where there had already been a high level of transmission," says Lyda Osorio, an epidemiologist at Universidad del Valle's school of public health in Cali, Colombia. "So a hypothesis that one could anticipate is that the vaccines became that 'booster' for people who had already been infected, and that immunity may last a little longer." However optimistic the outlook may seem as the Southern Hemisphere exits winter and moves into warmer months, doctors insist that mask-wearing, social-distancing and vaccines need to be kept up well into 2022. — Daniel Cancel | 
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