Immunization in the Americas: 2024 Summary

The countries of the Americas, with support from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), have made remarkable progress in providing children with a protective umbrella against vaccine-preventable diseases. Sustained high levels of national immunization coverage, the eradication of polio, the interruption of endemic measles transmission, and efforts toward the elimination of rubella and congenital rubella syndrome are hemispheric benchmarks of this progress. Since 2020, the Region has also been facing the COVID-19 pandemic, and great efforts have been made to ensure the administration of COVID-19 vaccines in all countries. Currently, countries are vaccinating age groups other than those usually targeted by the traditional childhood immunization program. The introduction of influenza vaccine in adult populations at risk, vaccination of adolescents and adults, males and females for rubella elimination, and the definition of the burden of cervical cancer are activities that support the critical need for national immunization programs to transition from childhood to family immunization. To support countries, one of PAHO's functions is to disseminate information that highlights progress and challenges in the Region. To that end, PAHO regularly publishes several technical documents related to immunization. The brochure Immunization in the Americas, published annually, summarizes immunization coverage in the Region of the Americas and illustrates the work carried out by immunization programs in the Region during that year. Immunization in the Americas: 2024 summary includes tables with demographic, morbidity, program management, financing, and socioeconomic data for the Region, as well as reported immunization coverage and surveillance indicators, among other information.