Washington, Apr 24 (EFE) .- A few days after the start of the Vaccination Week in the Americas, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) alerted Thursday about the increase in preventable diseases for vaccination in the region, with active measles outbreaks and yellow fever.
The organism director, Jarbas Barbosa, called on countries to take immediate measures to close the gaps in the immunization coverage.
“during the last five decades, vaccines have saved 154 million lives in the world and reduced infant mortality by 41 % in the Americas,” Barbosa said during a press conference held at the PAHO headquarters.
However, he warned that “our progress against vaccination preventable diseases requires a firm and sustained commitment to appropriate public health measures.”
So far from 2025, 2,313 measles cases have been registered in six Américas countries, compared to only 215 cases in the same period of the previous year. Three deaths have been confirmed, and one is under investigation.
“Measles is one of the most contagious diseases in the world,” Barbosa emphasized. “And countries have had difficulty maintaining the recommended coverage of 95 % of the triple viral vaccine or SRP (measles, rubella and paperras), which leaves us susceptible to imported cases,” he added.
While the coverage of the first dose of the SRP vaccine increased to 87 % in 2023 – the first improvement since 2019 – still 1.4 million children did not receive any doses. “Outbreaks in communities have been recorded where between 3 % and 7 % of the population was susceptible, which shows the risk that even small groups with low coverage represents,” he explained.
-The situation is aggravated by the resurgence of yellow fever, with 189 cases and 74 deaths so far this year compared to the 61 cases and 30 deaths recorded throughout 2024.
During the Vaccination Week in Las Américas, from April 26 to May 3, countries plan to administer 66.5 million doses, including 2.7 million against measles.
“Immunization does not end with vaccination week,” said Barbosa, who stressed that the initiative has allowed more than 1.2 billion people to be vaccinated since 2003.
To deal with outbreaks, PAHO works with countries to strengthen routine immunization, use digital tools such as electronic records and geographic information systems, and combat reticence to vaccines.
“These tools help monitor coverage, identify gaps and stop the virus on time,” Barbosa said.
“The Americas have a Leadership legacy in vaccination and disease elimination.” Among them, the elimination of endemic measles in 2024, although current outbreaks show that this status can be in danger if high coverage is not maintained.
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