2024 Vaccination Week in the Americas delivers 65 million doses, protecting millions with Canadian support

The 2024 Vaccination Week in the Americas (VWA), supported by the Canadian government, administered more than 65 million vaccine doses across 34 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, protecting millions of people, particularly those in vulnerable communities.

The figure reflects a substantial increase of 2 million doses over the 63 million administered during VWA 2023, according to data released this month by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO).

The 22nd annual VWA, coordinated by PAHO and carried out from April 20-27, 2024, underscored the region’s commitment to combatting vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs) and advancing efforts to regain and surpass pre-pandemic vaccination levels.

“Vaccination week has been a flagship initiative of our organization for more than 20 years,” PAHO Director Dr. Jarbas Barbosa said. “Historically, our region has been a leader in disease elimination. However, for more than a decade, vaccination coverage has declined significantly due to several factors, including the false perception that diseases that have been eliminated or controlled no longer pose a risk to people’s health.”

Global Affairs Canada (GAC) played a key role in VWA 2024, providing financial support through Canada’s global Can GIVE initiative for vaccine equity. This funding helped ensure equitable vaccine access, particularly in underserved areas and strengthened regional healthcare systems.

Key achievements of VWA 2024

• Over 30 million doses of influenza vaccines were administered in 23 countries, targeting high-risk groups such as pregnant women, the elderly, and healthcare workers.
• Approximately 11.5 million people were immunized against COVID-19, spread across 16 participating countries.
• VWA successfully vaccinated 3.8 million individuals against polio and 4.3 million against measles, supporting regional goals to prevent the resurgence of these diseases.
• VWA also vaccinated 2.7 million people against the human papillomavirus (HPV), which can lead to cervical cancer, one of the leading causes of death among women in the region.

During VWA 2024, countries also focused on increasing the uptake of routine vaccination against diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus (DPT vaccine), and against measles mumps, and rubella (MMR vaccine).

Countries focused on vaccination of vulnerable groups such as Indigenous and tribal communities in Brazil, Colombia, and Suriname. In Ecuador, vaccinators focused on increasing vaccination of boys and girls against HPV, with special emphasis on girls who missed out during the pandemic.