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PAHO launches Vaccination Week in the Americas

Apr 25, 2023 News

Kaieteur News – The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) on Monday officially launched Vaccination Week in the Americas, an initiative aimed at mobilising concerted action across the region to boost routine and targeted immunization efforts.

Taking place from 22 to 29 April, this year’s Vaccination Week in the Americas (VWA) campaign aims to reach more 92 million people with over 144 million doses of different vaccines in 45 countries and territories.  The drive comes as the risk of vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks is at a 30-year high in the Americas, with one in five children under the age of one year not fully protected against multiple vaccine-preventable diseases.

“PAHO is working with countries to revitalize immunization programs and use this key public health tool in all its strength to save the lives and protect the health of people in our region,” PAHO Director Jarbas Barbosa said at the launch of this year’s VWA.

Dr. Barbosa spoke at a panel discussion to officially launch VWA, where he was joined by representatives of government, academia, civil society and youth to discuss challenges, opportunities and strategies to boost immunization rates in the region. During the event, video messages were also delivered by Ms. Yazmin Colón de Cortizo, First Lady of Panama; Dr. Nísia Trindade Lima, Minister of Health of Brazill; Mr. Jerome Xavier Walcott, Minister of Health and Wellness of Barbados; Rochelle P. Walensky, Director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Chris Elias, president of the Global Development Division of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

While declining vaccination rates have been observed in the region during the past decade, the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the problem through the disruption of health services and increased hesitancy brough upon by misinformation, the PAHO Director said. “Yet COVID-19 also gave us an opportunity, as it enabled strong cooperation between PAHO and countries to develop national immunization plans, train healthcare workers, and strengthen cold chain operations,” he said.

With high level political commitment and the participation of communities and societies, the PAHO Director said he is “confident that the region can regain its leadership position in immunizations, as it had in the past.”

He also called on countries to revamp immunization programs by taking advantage of innovations. This includes the use of geo-referencing tools to gather vaccine data to inform interventions, tools to quickly identify operational gaps, and the use of social and behavioral data and strategies to tackle vaccine hesitancy.  Over the last 20 years, VWA has been the most important initiative for immunization programs in the region to bring doses to populations.

The initiative has helped countries reach nearly 1.1 billion people in more than 40 countries and has supported the control of many diseases, along with the elimination of polio, measles, congenital rubella syndrome, neonatal tetanus, hepatitis B and smallpox. This year, 24 countries are planning to reach more than 55 million people with COVID-19 vaccines, both primary and booster doses. Participating countries and territories are also set to reach over 84 million people with the influenza vaccines, with a specific focus on those most at risk, such as pregnant women, older adults and health workers.

Efforts to keep the Region of the Americas polio-free include the vaccination of almost a million children with polio vaccines during the week. The Americas was declared polio-free in 1994, but dwindling rates have put many countries in the region at high risk of a resurgence of this devastating and untreatable – and vaccine-preventable – disease. In addition, countries have pledged to administer over 800,000 doses of vaccines against measles and rubella. These efforts will support the regional goal to obtain once again elimination status. Other goals include vaccinating more than 3 million people, including pregnant women and children, against diphtheria, tetanus, and whooping cough.

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