Prime Minister and Minister of Health Dr. Terrance Drew.
ST. KITTS--From April 22 to 29, St. Kitts and Nevis, as well as other countries and territories of the Re-gion of the Americas, celebrates the 21st annual Vaccination Week in the Americas (VWA) and the twelfth World Immunization Week (WIW) under the theme: “Get up-to-date. #EachVaccineCounts”.
Vaccination Week is celebrated the last week of April each year.
During the week, a series of activities will take place to raise awareness and sensitise the public on the significance of immunisation.
Prime Minister and Minister of Health, Dr. Terrance Drew, in his Vaccination Week Address, which kicked off the week’s celebration on Saturday, April 22, shared the focus of the week for the Federa-tion.
“This year’s call to action: ‘Get up-to-date. #EachVaccineCounts’ provides an opportunity to rein-force messages about the effectiveness and safety of vaccines, benefits provided by vaccination, demonstrate the importance of receiving all doses of all vaccines included in our national immunisa-tion schedule and to share the successes of our Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI). In St. Kitts and Nevis, this year’s VWA campaign will focus on human papillomavirus vaccine (HPV): re-sensitisation of the public about its benefits in protecting individuals and loved ones, locating and immunising those persons who were difficult to reach and failed to receive vaccines in 2022, and tet-anus toxoid vaccine: sensitising farmers about the importance of this vaccine for their healthy living.”
During his address, the minister of Health highlighted vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs) that have resurfaced due to vaccine avoidance.
“Some of us have never seen some of these vaccine-preventable diseases, and some parents prob-ably think that there is no real harm for infection, hence no need for urgency in keeping vaccine ap-pointments or consenting to vaccinate our children. Polio has been eliminated from the Caribbean region since 1982. However, recently two unvaccinated individuals with no travel history presented to health facilities with paralysis of limbs and were tested and diagnosed with polio in New York City [in July 2022 – Ed.] and in Peru [in March 2023].”
Vaccination Week of activities includes a series of sensitisation initiatives, including a Sensitization of HPV Vaccine and Mop-Up of grade six students at the various health centres and a Mop-Up of all antigens for children one to five years of age.
Today, Wednesday April 26, a Vaccine Fitness Fete at 4:30pm, which is open to the public, will be held at the Basseterre Health Centre Parking Lot.
The sensitisation drive continues on Thursday and Friday, April 27 and 28, with Sensitisation of Diptheria DT Vaccine to Farmers and General Public: Administration of Tetanus Vaccine, at the Agri-culture Fair, at the Royal Basseterre Valley National Park, located next to the National Heroes Park.
The Ministry of Health urges parents to take all reasonable steps to ensure that their children re-ceive their recommended vaccinations. All vaccinations on the schedule are accessible to the public.
