Last Updated on April 24, 2023, 5:40 AM AST by Anthony Morris
The Prime Minister of St Kitts and Nevis, Dr Terrance Drew, also responsible for the Ministry of Health, recently kick-started Vaccination Week in the country. Regional health awareness week is celebrated annually during the final week of April to promote equity and access to vaccination. Vaccination Week will be celebrated in the country from April 22 to April 29, 2023.
The theme of the 2023 edition of the event will be “Get up-to-date. #EachVaccineCounts”. With this initiative, the authorities seek to make the people aware of the importance of immunization and to vaccinate hard-to-reach sections of our populations, including indigenous peoples and migrants. The people of St Kitts and Nevis will team up with the other regions of the Americas to celebrate the event.
During the starting ceremony for the event, Dr Terrance Drew delivered brief remarks for the people of St Kitts and Nevis. The Prime Minister believes that through this initiative, the authorities will get the opportunity to reinforce notions about the effectiveness and safety of the vaccines. Additionally, they will expand upon the benefits of vaccination and demonstrate the importance of receiving all the doses of all vaccines included in our national immunization schedule.
Additionally, throughout the week-long celebrations, the authorities will share the successes of St Kitts and Nevis’s Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI). Prime Minister Dr Terrance Drew asserted that the Ministery of Health in the government of St Kitts and Nevis ensured that they have access to adequate storage, distribution, and correct administration of all vaccines. According to him, Vaccines are safe and prevent vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs).
Here, Dr Drew added that many of the people of St Kitts and Nevis had not seen any vaccine-preventable diseases. Accordingly, some parents believe there is no real harm in infections since the VPDs are eliminated in the region. However, it is also true that in the absence of proper vaccinations, several VPDs, earlier eliminated, have reappeared with different strains.
Accordingly, Dr Terrance Drew asserted that it is very important for people to get access to regular and essential vaccinations. The prime Minister added that during the 2023 edition of Vaccination Week, The Ministry of Health in the government of St Kitts and Nevis aims to:
- Inform the people about the benefits of the Human Papillomavirus Vaccine in the protection of families and loved ones
- Locate the people who did not get vaccines in 2022 and immunize them.
- Inform the farmers about the importance of the Tetanus Toxoid Vaccine.
As a formerly practising doctor, PM Drew asserted that Vaccines are safe and save countless lives. The Measles virus, eradicated from the Caribbean in 2016, resurfaced in the form of outbreaks. The governments across the Caribbean, including St Kitts and Nevis, have accordingly taken several steps to benefit the people.
However, vaccination coverage in the years 2020 and 2021 has gone down for the measles, mumps & rubella vaccine. Meanwhile, according to Dr Terrance Drew, the MMR1 coverage rate was 95%, and the MMR2 coverage rate was 93% for the measles, mumps & rubella vaccine. The healthcare professionals aim to target the defaulters during this VWA campaign. They hope to increase the coverage rate to 95% and above.
In line with this doctor Terrance Drew is urging the people parents and loved ones to do everything in their power to get their children vaccinated according to the schedules. He added that children and infants run a high risk of getting infected with communicable diseases this is because the immune system of children is not fully developed to fight the infections, which can prove fatal to them.
Dr Terrance Drew stated that the vaccinnes help develop the immune systems of the people. so that their bodies can fight against any germs and prevent serious infections.
Anthony Morris covers stories related to politics and regional developments. His in-depth reporting about governance and reforms makes him stand out in regional journalism, with a deep analysis of political trends and their impact on Caribbean communities.
