Second Stage of Polio Vaccinations Begins in Cuba

The 53rd National Vaccination Campaign against poliomyelitis in Cuba begins its second stage today, with more than 500,000 children to be vaccinated.

Through May 1, around 383,671 children under the age of three (ranging from one month to two years, 11 months and 29 days of age) who received a first dose in March, will be given a second, booster dose of the vaccine, the Ministry of Public Health informed.

Meanwhile, the vaccine will be also reactivated for 119,899 children between the ages of nine and ten.

Between 1962 and 2013, more than 83 million doses have been applied in Cuba, so all the population less than 68 is protected against a highly infectious viral disease that can cause irreversible paralysis.

In 1962, Cuba became the first Latin American country to be declared free of the disease.

Each year, the World Health Organization (WHO) celebrates World Immunization Week during the last week of April, to raise public awareness on the way to save lives, encouraging people to be vaccinated against fatal diseases, not only themselves personally, but also their children.