Health Minister Sir Molwyn Joseph has launched Vaccination Week 2023 in
Antigua and Barbuda, with a warning that vaccine hesitancy is putting the country
at risk of contracting many preventable diseases.
Speaking before a group of health professionals to launch the week, Sir Molwyn
noted that the region of the Americas once led the world in the rate of vaccinations
that prevented many diseases. Among countries in the Americas, Antigua and
Barbuda had a record of vaccination that was among the highest in the region.
This, he felt, led to residents in the country not having many of the diseases found
in other countries.
However, according to the health minister, that situation has changed over the last
three years since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic which has seen a rise in
vaccine hesitancy among residents in Antigua and Barbuda. According to Sir
Molwyn, the situation has raised an alarm at the level of the Pan American Health
Organisation (PAHO).
“The new PAHO Director, Dr. Jarbas Barbosa, calls on countries to urgently step-
up routine vaccination programs as the risk of disease outbreaks in the Americas
reaches a 30-year high due to a decline in vaccination coverage.
“While the Americas was the first region in the world to eliminate polio in 1994
and has historically been a world leader in disease control and elimination,
“national immunization programs have suffered numerous setbacks over the last
decade,” Dr. Barbosa said during a media briefing today,” the minister reported.
Dr. Barbosa has also identified inadequate sustainable financing for immunization
and an increase in vaccine hesitancy due to misinformation as two of the primary
drivers of the drop in coverage factors that have been further exacerbated by the
COVID-19 pandemic.
Sir Molwyn quotes the PAHO Director as stating that the Region of the Americas
is the second in the world with the worst vaccine coverage. Around 2.7 million
children did not receive all their vaccine doses in 2021, leaving them without full
protection against diphtheria, tetanus, and whooping cough. Two countries – Brazil
and Mexico – account for more than 50% of children that have never received a
vaccine in the region.
Failure to effectively implement and maintain routine vaccination coverage leaves
children “susceptible to diseases such as polio, tetanus, measles, and diphtheria,”
Dr. Barbosa said.
The Health Minister praised the efforts of local nurses in their dedication and
commitment to proceed with administering the vaccine regime against a backdrop
of widespread misinformation about vaccines, their efficacy, and safety. He
pointed to a handbook produced by a team of local health professionals led by Dr.
Joycelyn Joseph as a useful tool in helping to educate the population about the
importance of vaccinations.
Antigua and Barbuda traditionally had a vaccination rate upwards of 95 percent,
but this has seen a decline over the last three years since the COVID-19 pandemic.
