Vaccination Week 2024 in the Americas
From 20 to 27 April 2024, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), together with the countries and territories of the Region of the Americas and its partners, celebrated the 22nd annual Vaccination Week in the Americas (VWA) and the 13th World Immunization Week (WIW) under the call to action: Engage now to protect your future. #GetVax
During VWA, every year more than 40 countries and territories in the Americas come together in April to vaccinate their populations, making a special effort to reach people who may not have regular access to health services, including indigenous peoples, migrants, border populations, and people living on the urban fringe. Multiple events and extended service hours allow more people to receive missing vaccines at more convenient times and locations.
VWA 2024 Goals
For this year’s campaign, 44 countries and territories have reached more than 83.5 million people with almost 156 million doses of the vaccines that make up national immunization programs. Eighteen countries and territories prioritized COVID-19 vaccination, reaching around 70 million individuals, including older adults, health workers, and those with chronic illnesses. As one of the cornerstones of VWA, influenza vaccination continued to be one of the top priorities for participating countries and territories. Operations targeted 78 million people with this vaccine, including children younger than 5 years, pregnant women, older adults, health workers, and those with chronic diseases.
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Region of the Americas receiving the polio-free certification. This achievement requires countries to invest and reach as many children as possible to maintain this status. Twenty-eight countries and territories aimed to vaccinate almost 3.5 million children with bOPV and IPV vaccines. Countries administered almost half a million doses of measles and rubella vaccines. These efforts bring the Region of the Americas closer to obtaining, once again, elimination status for measles.
Twenty-nine countries prioritized the vaccination of over 900,000 girls and boys aged 9 years or older against the human papillomavirus (HPV). HPV vaccination is a key intervention to address several types of cancer, including cervical cancer, one of the leading causes of death among women in the Region of the Americas.
For more information on this year’s VWA campaign, please visit www.paho.org/vwa
Author: PAHO (Margherita Ghiselli, Evelyn Lopez, and Octavia Silva)
Photo: Vaccination Week in the Americas 2024 poster.