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(Caribbean Public Health Agency Press Release) “For years, vaccines have protected children from deadly diseases like polio, measles, rubella, and mumps. These vaccines, including the COVID-19 vaccine, continue to save lives especially today,” stated Dr. Joy St. John, Executive Director of the Caribbean Public Health Agency, in observance of Vaccination Week in the Americas 2022.

This year, CARPHA joins its public health partners and the rest of the world in observing the 20th Annual Vaccination Week in the Americas (VWA 2022) which runs from April 24th to 30th under the theme “Are You Fully Vaccinated?  Get All Your Shots”

The Caribbean is the world leader in this regard, as the first region to eliminate measles.  In 1971, smallpox was successfully eradicated from the Caribbean, followed by the eradication of polio in 1994, and rubella and congenital rubella syndrome in 2015. Caribbean countries have applied high standards in the delivery of vaccination programmes to eliminate diseases that cause death and disability. However, if we fall behind in our programmes, we run the risk of recurrence of measles and other previously eradicated diseases like polio. More people are likely to get sick with vaccine preventable diseases, thus increasing the burden on the healthcare systems.

Read more: https://today.caricom.org/2022/04/25/carpha-calls-for-action-get-all-your-shots/