Anguilla will commemorate this year’s Vaccination Week in the Americas with a series of events, including a church service, community activities and a march.
The week-long observance, which takes place from 16 April to 3 May, is part of a regional initiative to promote health and immunisation efforts.
The Ministry of Health joins the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the other Caribbean territories in observing the 23rd annual event.
“Vaccines stimulate and strengthen the body’s immune system to recognise and destroy certain germs, thereby preventing them from causing disease,” the ministry said in a press release.
It explained that immunised people are less likely to spread diseases on to others, adding: “Vaccination has been one of humanity’s most successful and impactful public health achievements.”
According to the World Health Organization, vaccines have saved more than 154 million lives over the past 50 years.
They currently prevent 3.5 to 5 million deaths every year from more than 20 life-threatening diseases like diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, influenza and measles.
The theme of this year’s campaign is ‘Your decision makes a difference. Immunisation for all’ aligns with the global message for World Immunisation Week – ‘Immunisation for all is humanly possible’.
“It calls on every individual to help safeguard the lives of those around them through vaccination,” the press release said.
In Anguilla, Vaccination Week in the Americas will begin at 9.15am on 26 April with a church service at the Mount Fortune Seventh Day Adventist Church.
This will be followed by a series of community and school-based activities and a march in the Valley on 2 May.
The ministry continues its work through the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI), to ensure that the island’s population is protected through vaccination.
More information on vaccinations is available from the Central Polyclinic on 497-2702, Welches Polyclinic on 476-6394 or the Western Polyclinic on 476-6392.
