Antigua and Barbuda, St Kitts and Nevis exceed pre-pandemic vaccination coverage

Antigua and Barbuda, along with St Kitts and Nevis, in 2023, hit important public health milestones, having broken pre-pandemic vaccination coverage levels in 2019, as per the reports of Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).

This success has been hailed by the PAHO, underscoring that both these countries are coming forth with firm commitments to protecting their populations, especially children, from the vaccine-preventable diseases.

Letters of commendation had been dispatched to Antigua and Barbuda’s Prime Minister, Gaston Browne, and St Kitts and Nevis’ Prime Minister, Dr Terrance Drew, by the PAHO Director, Dr Jarbas Barbosa, in recognition of the tremendous progress realized in routine immunization.

The PAHO director commended the countries on their very impressive outcomes, as captured in the joint World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Estimates of National Immunization Coverage (WUENIC).

“The implementation of solid vaccination programs is one of the noblest commitments made to the population, particularly the children, and to the protection of their health, and to ensuring that economies, labours, education among other areas are not held back by vaccine preventable diseases and epidemics,” said Dr Barbosa in his letter.

These vaccination targets are all the more remarkable because the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted health services globally. Much credit goes to health professionals in these Caribbean countries, who worked tirelessly to ensure that there was no decline in the previous vaccination coverage rates but rather an increase.

The Director, however, insisted that the progress made was not an excuse for not continuing to move forward, hence urging both the nations to strive for even higher coverage so that the immunizations have the region back to the summit position in the world ranking.

This will entail an internal analysis to realize population groups with lower vaccination uptakes and, in turn, address these groups face on, accessing them to the vaccination services.

On this very note, PAHO/WHO provided technical cooperation and innovative strategies to support countries in the identification of under-vaccinated groups and their coverage. This is very relevant cooperation, which is necessary for ensuring that vaccination efforts are inclusive and do not leave any population segment behind.

Dr Amalia Del Riego, the PAHO/WHO Representative for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean Countries (ECC), joined in to express pride regarding both Antigua and Barbuda’s and St Kitts and Nevis’s successes alike. She emphasized once more that PAHO remains committed to strengthening and supporting vaccination programs across the region.

The successes of Antigua and Barbuda and St Kitts and Nevis, represents what a sound vaccination program can achieve. These countries have set the standard for others to follow by having more than pre-pandemic levels of immunization.