There are major gains to accelerating access to a COVID-19 vaccine. The World Bank predicts a cumulative $1.02 trillion loss to the economies of Latin America and the Caribbean over 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19. Based on this estimate, ending the pandemic just three months earlier would yield nearly $125 billion for the region in economic benefits alone. This note describes a framework for assessing the costs and benefits of at-risk investments in COVID-19 vaccines and assesses the net benefits for Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries.

We use data from time-use surveys and the Mexican Health and Aging Study (MHAS) to analyze the relationship between the need to provide family long-term care (LTC) and womens labor supply in four Latin American countries.

Longitudinal studies of people conceived, in utero or in early childhood during previous pandemics and famines show that children can suffer lifelong negative consequences. Hundreds of millions of children are losing learning opportunities resulting in potentially large losses in their lifetime education, health, income, and productivity. Losses in long-term incomes from preprimary program closures due to COVID-19 can be unprecedented. Acute effects are plausible for such disruptions early in life when the brain is rapidly developing and is more sensitive to environmental changes.

Longitudinal studies of people conceived, in utero or in early childhood during previous pandemics and famines show that children can suffer lifelong negative consequences. Hundreds of millions of children are losing learning opportunities resulting in potentially large losses in their lifetime education, health, income, and productivity. Losses in long-term incomes from preprimary program closures due to COVID-19 can be unprecedented. Acute effects are plausible for such disruptions early in life when the brain is rapidly developing and is more sensitive to environmental changes.