Senior Reporter
kevon.felmine@guardian.co.tt
With several imported measles cases reported in the Americas, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has warned that other past diseases like pneumococcus, diphtheria, and whooping cough could resurge.
During a media briefing to mark Vaccination Week in the Americas 2024, PAHO’s Comprehensive Family Immunisation Unit chief, Dr Daniel Salas, emphasised the importance of recognising measles transmission worldwide. There have been 188 imported cases reported in the Americas, mainly in the United States of America and Canada. Salas warns that the virus can come from any country with clusters of infected people. The World Health Organization states that measles is a highly contagious airborne disease that can lead to severe complications and death. Although the Americas eliminated poliomyelitis, rubella, measles and neonatal tetanus between the 1980s and 2000s, Salas said low vaccination coverage opens the doors to old viruses. However, vaccination coverage of 95 per cent can protect a population. Measles vaccination coverage has not yet returned to pre-pandemic level, which worries PAHO, given the increase of cases worldwide and the highly contagious nature of the virus.
Vaccination Week will occur between April 20-27, whereby 40 countries and territories will make special efforts to reach people who may not have regular access to health services, including indigenous, migrant and border populations. This year’s campaign will focus on vaccine protection, with countries aiming to reach over 83.5 million people with an estimated 156 million dosages. The Americas almost remain a distance away from the 90 per cent vaccination coverage goals for girls, ages nine-14, against the Human Papillomavirus (HPV). HPV causes cervical cancer, a leading cause of death among women.
PAHO Director Dr Jarbas Barbosa said the Americas has historically led in disease elimination. However, vaccination coverage has declined over the last decade due to the false perception that elimination or controlled diseases no longer pose health risks. Barbosa said there has been a reduction in priority vaccination programmes, and health services have not adapted to current demands and lifestyles. He said there is insufficient training of health professionals on issues such as vaccine efficacy and safety and increased misinformation and anti-vaccination sentiment like seen during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Barbosa said the Americas was able to recover some vaccination coverage to pre-pandemic levels through countries’ efforts in recent years. First-dose vaccination coverage for diphtheria, whooping cough, and tetanus is at 91 per cent, which is encouraging.
“Despite improvements, by 2022, 1.2 million children, younger than one, had never received a dose of vaccine. Meanwhile, two million children, under the age of one, that is to say, 15 out of every 100 children, remain only partially protected against vaccine-preventable diseases in the region,” Barbosa said.
He said it was easier to convince people to vaccinate in the past because everyone knew someone with poliomyelitis or lost a child or friend to a vaccine-preventable disease.
Back then, he said people knew vaccines could save lives and eliminate or reduce the effects of diseases. Barbosa said there is a false perception that vaccines are not necessary, citing cases of measles in Europe and Africa that can reach the Americas through tourism. He believes health practitioners should have more information so they can educate people. He said the same commitment countries gave to COVID-19 vaccination must match routine immunisation programmes.