Venezuela receives 30,000 doses of polyomyelitis vaccines from Cuba

Venezuela received 30,000 doses of vaccines against polyomyelitis from Cuba and who are intended for newborns and children under five years, the head of the Ministry of Health, Magaly Gutiérrez, reported on Saturday.

Through his Telegram channel, Gutiérrez indicated that, thanks to the alliance between Cuba and Venezuela, the cargo of vaccines arrived at the Arturo Michelena International Airport, in the Carabobo state (North).

«Despite the economic blockade our country faces, President Nicolás Maduro Moros continues to ensure the necessary doses to protect the health of our infants,» said the official.

Last Tuesday, Venezuela received 30,000 doses of the polyomyelitis vaccine and 20,000 from the BCG against tuberculosis from Nicaragua, also destined for newborns and children under five years of age, the health portfolio reported.

This was the «first lot of vaccines» to «strengthen the policy of the Expanded Immunization Program (PAI),» thanks to the «cooperation» of the countries of the Bolivarian Alliance for the peoples of Our America (ALBA), said the Deputy Minister of Collective Health, Jesús Osteicochea, from the Simón Bolívar International Airport of Maiquetía, which serves Caracas, where he received the shipment.

The objective, he said, is that «no child in the country is missing his doses,» in order to «avoid preventable diseases,» and pointed out that these vaccines will be distributed in «593 areas of Comprehensive Community Health (ASIC).»

As reported in 2024 the Venezuelan Society of Childcare and Pediatrics, «in the last 10 years the PAI fails to reach the proposed goals in terms of vaccination coverage.»

He also noted that «the indicators of new vaccines and update of the scheme show that (El) Pai (de) Venezuela is very delayed in the incorporation of new vaccines.» EFE