According to experts from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), these countries must be vaccinated and monitored for polio during the epidemic to prevent the spread of the disease.
“Although we as a sector have beaten polio once before, if we allow vaccination coverage rates to drop and become very low, our communities will once again be at risk of polio transmission,” said Carissa Etine, director of PAHO. “That is why our role in preventing and sustaining polio eradication in our region is more important than ever while we wait for countries in other parts of the world to achieve this goal.”
The epidemic has emphasized immunization and surveillance systems designed to detect and respond to vaccinated diseases, according to the PAHO.
“Now during the epidemic, we must work extra hard to lose what we have gained,” said Kuahtemok Ruiz Matus, head of PAHO’s immunization program.
Ruiz said strong political commitment from governments, strategic partnerships between international agencies and the work of health care workers have led to success in the region’s fight against the virus.
“Without all these things, we wouldn’t be where we are today,” Ruiz said.
According to the PHAO (US), the reported coverage for the polio vaccine for the United States between 2016 and 2019 was between 85-87%.
According to PAHO, coverage could be lower in 2020 due to disruptions in primary health care activities caused by the Cavid-19 epidemic.
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