The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said on Wednesday that the Americas is facing a pandemic of the uninoculated, as it warned countries with low inoculation rates are seeing surge in COVID-19 and repeated a call for vaccine donations.

“We face a pandemic of the unvaccinated, and the only way to stop it is to expand vaccination,” PAHO director Carissa Etienne said at a weekly briefing. “Vaccines are vital, even if no vaccine is 100 percent effective.”

The start of inoculations in Haiti – which has plunged deeper into turmoil following the assassination of President Jovenel Moise – highlights how ready countries are to receive donations of shots, she added.