“Access to vaccinations must be guaranteed everywhere and for all people, especially for those who are most vulnerable, as also reaffirmed in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and in the 2020-2025 National Prevention Plan, which establishes among the objectives is to offer effective, efficient and resilient vaccination services, accessible for all as part of primary health care, and to ensure that vaccinations are accessible in order to achieve the highest standard of health as a fundamental right of every individual “. This is the appeal of Siti, the Italian Society of Hygiene, Preventive Medicine and Public Health, in view of World Immunization Week, the annual campaign promoted by the World Health Organization (WHO), which runs from 24 to 30 April.
This year, the focus of World Immunization Week is the urgency of “recovering, restoring and strengthening routine immunisation”. The Covid-19 pandemic, the hygienists point out, “on the one hand has made clear once again to the whole world the human, ethical and social value of vaccines, fundamental tools for preventing disease, saving lives and ensuring a healthier future , safe and prosperous. On the other hand, it represented an obstacle to routine vaccinations, causing a reduction in coverage in the period of greatest pandemic intensity. Suffice it to say that, according to data provided by the WHO, in 2021 global vaccination coverage fell by 5%, while girls not vaccinated against human papillomavirus (HPV) increased by 3.5 million compared to 2019”. For this reason “the need to recover the lost vaccinations is more urgent than ever, taking advantage of this turning point as an opportunity to permanently strengthen the vaccination services”.
“Access to vaccinations must be guaranteed for everyone – reiterates Siti – regardless of geographical and generational differences, through the implementation of strategic programs dedicated to identifying and overcoming all those factors that can hinder it, whether these physical barriers , educational, linguistic or socio-cultural, in full compliance with the principles of centrality of the patient and proximity and capillarity of services.A successful program does not only require safe and effective vaccines – in fact warn the hygienists – but a calibration of vaccination policies which must go through a careful analysis of the epidemiological, structural and socio-cultural situation of the territorial context in which it operates”.
“Equity is one of the cornerstones of our National Health Service – Siti points out – and there is no doubt that the universal system is fundamental in mitigating health inequalities. There can be no health for all without equity of access, starting from In order to break down any inequality in health status and outcomes, it is crucial to consider the role of ‘hard-to-reach’ populations, often marginalized within our society, such as foreigners, people with low health literacy, psychiatric patients, prisoners”.
“To ensure that public health is also democratic – the hygienists conclude – the participation, commitment and responsibility of all the actors involved are necessary: starting from public health professionals and health workers, passing through the involvement of policy makers and the third sector”.
#Vaccines #April #World #Week #hygienists #appeal #guarantee