BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - JUNIOR MINISTER OF HEALTH Hon. Wendy Phipps is reminding persons to be vaccinated as records of PAHO and the WHO indicate that over 25 diseases are vaccine-preventable and, as such, the global populations should actively seek out vaccination coverage as a means of remaining healthy and leading productive lives.
The Minister made those comments to kick start the 15th Vaccination Week in the Americas, which coincides with the World Health Organisation’s ‘World Immunisation Week’.
Phipps noted that this year’s campaign seeks to encourage “the people of our Federation and our region to protect their health and that of our loved ones by getting vaccinated”.
St. Kitts and Nevis, the Minister explained, has a 97% vaccine coverage of the population and declared that plans are in motion to introduce “vaccines against the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) and Influenza among high risk populations such as health workers and persons with chronic conditions.”
“As we use this week to showcase the benefits of vaccination to the people of our nation, we should be reminded of some key facts about immunisation: Vaccines save lives and prevent illness and disability; Global vaccination coverage is holding steady, with 86% of the world’s children receiving the required three doses of Diphtheria-Tetanus-Pertussis (DPT3) coverage; Vaccinations prevent an average of two to three million deaths per year from conditions such as Tetanus, Measles and Pertussis; an additional 1.5 million deaths could be avoided if global vaccination coverage improves; some 19.4 million infants worldwide are not being treated with the most basic vaccines.”
The Minister noted that despite those successes, there are still several hurdles affecting full international immunisation record.
To this end, Phipps indicated that the nation must continue to do its part to:
(a) encourage parents and guardians to vaccinate their infants and school-aged children;
(b) ensure that there is adequate governmental support to finance our national immunisation programme;
(c) protect our citizens before they travel abroad to areas where certain diseases are prevalent; and
(d) protecting our borders by ensuring that minimum vaccination standards are maintained by travellers seeking to access our ports of entry.
Health officials are holding a number of activities to celebrate the week, including training of Health Care Workers in various aspects of the Family Health Programme; Vaccination drive among high risk, Diabetic population; and Mop Up campaign to get children in vaccination.
