​05/05/2016

Press Release No. 093, 2015

 -    On this national immunization day, about 372,000 children under 6 years old were vaccinated.

 Bogota (DC), May 5, 2016. With the presence of Carissa F. Etienne, director of the Pan American Health Organization, PAHO, the Ministry of Health and Social Protection confirmed its participation in the Vaccination Week in the Americas with the launch of the national day, from the city of Leticia, Amazonas. 

 During the event, Dr. Etienne said that our country has one of the most complete and solid vaccination schemes in the region and that alliances that help control or eliminate disease are very important.

Currently, the immunization plan has 21 biologicals that prevent against 26 diseases and last year two new biologicals, varicella and inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) were included.

Diego Alejandro García, Coordinator of the Expanded Immunization Program, PAI, of the Ministry, said that Colombia is already one of the countries that have made the switch to the oral polio vaccine.

“The change of trivalent oral polio vaccine to bivalent oral was made on May 1. This means that the population is now protected against two types of poliovirus and not three, since one of these has already been eradicated,” Garcia said.

 For this NID, about 372,000 children under 6 years old received vaccines to protect them from diseases such as diphtheria, tuberculosis, whooping cough, tetanus, hepatitis B, pneumonia, pneumococcal meningitis, seasonal and type B influenza, measles, rubella, mumps and polio.

Also, 61,500 pregnant women were vaccinated against whooping cough and influenza; 117,000 women against tetanus in the 10 to 49 age group, and 375,000 adults against influenza.

 It is recalled that Vaccination Week in the Americas is a strategy originating in 2003 after an endemic measles outbreak in Venezuela and Colombia. In order to prevent future situations, health ministers of the Andean countries proposed maintaining a coordinated vaccination initiative. During the 14 years of development, with the last four having global participation, more than 580 million people have benefited.