The director of the Pan American Health Organisation, Dr. Jarbas Barbosa, says with 15 out of every 100 children in the Americas, including the Caribbean, only partially protected against vaccine-preventable diseases, countries should continue their efforts to recover routine vaccination coverage.
Speaking ahead of Vaccination Week in the Americas, which begins on Saturday, Dr Barbosa said historically, the region has always been a leader in disease elimination. But, for more than a decade, vaccination coverage has significantly decreased.
He says this is due to several factors, including a false perception that eliminated and controlled diseases no longer pose a risk to people's health; a reduction in the prioritisation of vaccination programmes; and the rise in disinformation since the COVID-19 pandemic, among other factors.
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