Efforts to intensify vaccination this year have intensified, with parents being urged to take their children’s health passport to schools and clinics for checks as part of vaccination week this year. One nurse told a group of parents this week that health personnel are being pressured to increase vaccination.
The Health Ministry had issued the advisory affirming Jamaica’s measle-free status, following a directive from the Pan American Health Organisation/World Health Organisation (PAHO/WHO) recommendation that Member States continue their efforts to sustain the elimination of measles, rubella, and congenital rubella syndrome in the region. The PAHO Bulletin had warned that the risk of outbreaks has increased given the increase in measles cases worldwide.
According to the PAHO bulletin issued in March, there were 17,887 suspected cases of measles reported in the region in 2024, of which 464 were confirmed, with a notable proportion of these in adolescents and young adults. Notably, 63% of confirmed cases in 2024 had not been vaccinated. This means that 37 per cent of those confirmed as having measles were vaccinated.
Some parents have grown distrustful of vaccines and the health officials who mandate them. Vaccine hesitancy increased during the COVID-19 epidemic. In Jamaica, for example, citizens were initially encouraged to take the vaccine as a foolproof way of protecting themselves against the virus. However, many vaccinated persons were later diagnosed with Covid-19. Despite assurances from the health minister and the prime minister that the vaccines were safe, vaccine manufacturer AstraZeneca admitted last year that its COVID-19 vaccine can cause a rare but deadly blood-clotting condition. Some Jamaicans have blamed the increase in sudden deaths in the country on the vaccines, but health officials continue to trumpet the efficacy of Jamaica’s vaccination programme.
