'Science and solidarity': Why Puerto Rico leads US in Covid vaccinations

Experts credit the surprising success to two major factors: a sense of solidarity forged from past brushes with disasters, and a public health response untainted by political polarization seen on the mainland.

The situation is the complete opposite of what was expected at the start of the pandemic, when the odds seemed stacked against the Caribbean archipelago. A hammer blow came in September 2017, when Hurricane Maria ravaged the island, leaving nearly 3,000 dead. Many of the victims perished from a lack of resources and poor post-disaster response. The storm struck the island less than a month after Hurricane Irma passed by, causing vast power outages.

According to its founder, Lilliam Rodriguez, the organization began in 2013 to promote vaccinations against various diseases. Unlike what happened in the rest of the United States, Puerto Rico "has not politicized" the response to the pandemic.

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