Guatemala Launches Measles And Polio Vaccination Campaign In Indigenous Regions
A girl receiving the polio vaccine in Guatemala. Photo: X/ @Noticias502_GT
August 3, 2024 Hour: 1:54 pm
The health authorities of Guatemala launched a mass vaccination campaign to combat measles and polio on Saturday The aim is to reach more than one million children aged between 2 and 5 throughout the country.
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The Ministry of Public Health and Social Welfare opened the campaign in the indigenous municipality of San Juan Sacatepéquez, located 30 kilometers west of the Guatemalan capital, The Ministry of Education and Science has been responsible for the most important part of the programme.
The campaign will run until 6 October and aims to vaccinate 1.3 million children to achieve 95% vaccination coverage for children aged 2-5 years, according to data from health authorities released this Saturday.
In 2023, Guatemala closed the vaccination campaign against these two diseases with 77% of children vaccinated with the two corresponding doses, according to the National Immunization Programme.
During the opening ceremony, Lilian Reneau-Vernon, representative of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), assured that Guatemala will have the support of technicians and constant evaluations during these weeks to try to reach the vaccination goal.
Last May, the authorities of Guatemala issued a warning for a possible measles epidemic in the Central American country due to low levels of vaccination and also reported the The report is based on a study of the situation in Turkey.
Autor: ACJ
Fuente: EFE