PANAMA CITY, April 25, 2022 – In just five years, the complete vaccination schedule for diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (DTP3) in Latin America and the Caribbean has dropped from 90 percent in 2015 to 76 percent in 2020, according to data from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) y UNICEF. This means that one in four boys and girls in the region has not received the full routine vaccination schedule that would protect them from multiple diseases.
The decrease in vaccination coverage had already begun before the appearance of COVID-19; However, the suspension or irregular programming of many basic health services during the pandemic and people’s fear of catching COVID-19 during visits to health centers is leaving many children without vaccines.
“The decline in vaccination rates in the region is alarming and leaves millions of children and adolescents exposed to serious illness, or even death, when it could be prevented,” said Jean Gough, UNICEF Regional Director for Latin America and Caribbean. “The solution to this scenario is simple, and it has been proven to work: strengthen vaccination programs.”
The drop in coverage of 14 percentage points affects almost 2.5 million boys and girls who have not received the full DTP vaccination schedule. Of them, 1.5 million have not even received the first dose of that vaccine.
dangerous recoil
The more children do not have access to vaccines, the more opportunities there are for diseases like measles to spread. Epidemiological outbreaks that can be prevented with vaccines have already occurred. For example, while in 2013 only 5 people with diphtheria were registered in the entire region, in 2018 almost 900 cases were registered, according to PAHO data. Measles is a case of greater concern as it is caused by a highly contagious virus: in 2013 there were almost 500 cases; but in 2019, more than 23 thousand people suffered from this disease.
“As countries recover from the pandemic, immediate action is needed to prevent coverage rates from falling further, because the potential re-emergence of disease outbreaks also poses a serious risk to all of society,” Gough said. “This is an opportunity to restructure primary health care and reinforce the comprehensive and community approach that makes it possible to bring vaccines to the most vulnerable populations. We cannot waste the efforts of past decades and let dangerous diseases threaten the lives of children.”
UNICEF calls on the governments of Latin America and the Caribbean to urgently re-establish and strengthen routine immunization programs, develop campaigns to boost confidence in vaccines and implement plans to reach all children and adolescents and their families ; especially to the most vulnerable who do not have access to health services, due to their geographic location, migratory status or ethnic identity.
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