Not all doom and gloom for Latin America

The positive news on the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines offers hope for the region’s economy. As things stand, Chile and, to a lesser extent, Mexico look well placed to benefit given their sizeable pre-orders. Purchases are relatively small in Peru and Colombia, suggesting these economies may be slower to receive a ‘vaccine bounce’. Of course, there will be many logistical and distributional challenges to rolling out a vaccine, suggesting an economic boost may only come in the second half of 2021. And in the meantime, the regional economic recovery will continue to be weighed down by the continued spread of the virus. But the key point is that a vaccine offers a much-needed route out of the coronavirus-related slump for most economies in the region.