Puerto Rico has the highest proportion of people that are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus in the United States as of October 19, according to data from the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).
Why It’s important: PR has been able to accomplish such feats amid frequent power outages, earthquakes, and a heavy reliance on imported healthcare technologies from outside the region.
In figures: 72.2% of the total 3.3 million residents of Puerto Rico are completely vaccinated against the virus, according to CDC data.
The region also has one of the United States’ lowest rates of COVID transmission in the community, with only 18 confirmed cases out of 100,000 residents in the past seven days.
What they say: “This means saving hundreds, if not thousands of lives,” Daniel Colón Ramos, president of the Puerto Rico Scientific Alliance, told the press on Tuesday.
“There are people who literally live their lives normally and who would not be here without these efforts.”
“Puerto Rico has managed to mass-vaccinate thanks to the measures we have taken as a government and the cooperation of the people,” Governor Pedro Pierluisi said to the Press.
