From April 21 to 28, countries from Canada to the tip of South America and throughout the Caribbean will be part of the fifth edition of Vaccination Week in the Americas. The beneficiaries will be millions of children, young women, and seniors, mostly in remote areas.

Back to Vaccination Week 2007 Home Page

Press Releases

Vaccination Week in the Americas 2007
Vaccination Week in the Americas will be held 21-28 April, 2007, with the aim of increasing and strengthening routine immunization coverage and advancing awareness of new and effective vaccines that can help save lives and prevent disease.

Marking its 5th anniversary in 2007, Vaccination Week has been endorsed by all the countries and territories of the Region. It has focused on increasing vaccination coverage among difficult-to-reach populations, in isolated and border communities, and in areas with low immunization coverage.

Since its start, some 147 million people have been vaccinated during the special week. Equally important are the advocacy efforts that have taken place, serving to educate and inform on the need for routine vaccinations as well as basic health care.

The fifth year of this international effort is an opportunity to bolster vaccination efforts, herald primary health care, and improve health outcomes throughout the hemisphere. It comes at an exciting time for the Americas, building on the successes of smallpox eradication in the 1970s, polio eradication in 1991, measles elimination in 1998, and the coming elimination of rubella and congenital rubella syndrome.

New vaccines are now becoming available in many countries for rotavirus, pneumococcus, and human papillomavirus, all diseases responsible for needless deaths and now preventable by immunization. As immunization expands to include the whole family, countries are struggling to find ways to sustain financing for vaccines, especially new, expensive ones. Vaccination week is an excellent opportunity to promote awareness of vaccination in Canada, the United States and in the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean.

The Pan American Health Organization is calling on elected officials at the highest levels, legislators, celebrities, partners and health workers to take the lead in this extraordinary effort to save lives and improve health. We are seeking partnerships with organizations that can help bring the message to millions of people: Vaccination is an act of love.