Saint Lucia joins the rest of the Caribbean and Latin America in celebrating the 20 th VaccinationWeekof the Americas from April 23 to April 30, 2022; under the theme “Are You Fully Vaccinated?#Get All Your Shots. This celebration sets itself to close immunization gaps, wherever or whoever theymay be. The goal is to reach those who have not yet received the full benefits of routineimmunizations and/or the COVID-19 vaccination campaigns. It aims to build trust and confidencein the safety and effectiveness of ALL vaccines; strengthen the scope and reach of the routinevaccination program during and after the COVID-19 pandemic; and accelerate COVID-19vaccination operations to achieve high national vaccination coverage rates.

According to the World Health Organization, “In 2020, more than 2.7 million childrenof theAmericas were not vaccinated or remained under-vaccinated”. This means they are susceptibletodiseases like measles and polio – all of which had been eliminated from the Americas. Bearingthisin mind, Vaccination Week of the Americas is a time when the countries of the hemisphereworkcollaboratively to raise awareness on the importance of immunization in health care service delivery. It is a time when a special effort is made to reach out to citizens, ensuring that those whomaynot readily access health care services such as vaccination, are given the opportunity to do so.

Our population must be protected from the ever-present reality of a potential outbreak of vaccinepreventable diseases. We must continue to engage and remain committed to maintaininghighvaccination rates to protect our population by not only achieving, but also maintainingtherecommended 95% national vaccination coverage in children 5 years and under.

Let me direct your attention to our current situation, the COVID-19 pandemic: The pandemic has taken a heavy toll on health care systems, especially the primary healthcare services, as we focused on responding to this public health emergency. However, it is essential that we continueto advocate and maintain focus on the routine immunization program.

The Americas have noted decreases in the vaccine coverages of polio, measles and rubella, diptheriaandother childhood diseases before COVID-19 struck. The pandemic has further exacerbated these trends, making this a public health concern. There is increased risk of re-emergence of diseases whichhavebeen eliminated in our population.

The National immunization program has noted an overall decline in the routine vaccination coverageinthe primary series from 92% in 2019 to 80% in 2021. The same trend is noted for the booster dosesadministered to children over 1 year old. It should be noted that a major factor to this declineisuntimely/late vaccination due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

For COVID-19, the vaccination coverage is 29.4% - still short of achieving the first recommendedtarget of 40%.

The National program continues its efforts towards reducing the COVID-19 burden on the population. Alow vaccine coverage rate does not afford us the protection against severe disease, hospitalizationsanddeath and increases the risk of the country for the likely emergence and circulation of newer variants.

At this moment, I take this opportunity to recognize the hard work and dedication of the health teamwhocontinue to sustain the National Immunization program especially during the pandemic. The gains of theNational Immunization program would not be possible without your efforts.

ALL vaccines, including the COVID-19 vaccines are available at ALL Wellness Centers acrosstheisland. We therefore encourage you to visit your nearest Wellness Center and consult your healthcareprovider. A special appeal goes out to parents to ensure that your children’s vaccination status is up-to-date. Adults are also encouraged to get vaccinated.

Be responsible. Protect yourselves and your loved ones…. GET ALL YOUR SHOTS.