Immunization in the Americas. Summary 2020

Abstract

The countries of the Americas, with support from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), have made remarkable progress in providing children with an umbrella of protection against basic vaccine-preventable diseases. Sustained high national immunization coverage levels, the eradication of polio, the interruption of endemic measles virus transmission, and the more recent efforts towards rubella and congenital rubella syndrome elimination are hemispheric benchmarks of this progress. Countries are now vaccinating age groups outside those usually targeted in the traditional childhood immunization program, thus showing the critical need for national immunization programs to transition from child to family immunization. In the current context of the COVID-19 pandemic, the countries of the Region have taken important actions to implement innovative strategies and to maintain the high commitment of health workers to national immunization programs. Although these strategies have improved access to supply services, the COVID-19 pandemic and containment policies in the countries of the Region have affected the demand for vaccination services. In support to countries, one of PAHO's roles is to disseminate information that can highlight progress and challenges faced in the Region. This brochure highlights some of the achievements and challenges in immunization and summarizes 2020 key regional data in the Region of the Americas.