Guyana achieved 98% polio vaccine coverage in 2021

Guyana’s elimination of the polio virus for many years has been a result of robust action in the vaccination of children and nailing high coverage targets across the country.
This was according to Health Minister, Dr Frank Anthony as World Polio Day was recently observed.
In 2021, there was a remarkable 98 per cent coverage of Inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV) One in the country. Previously in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic saw a drop to 91 per cent. In 2018 and 2019, coverage stood at 94 per cent and 97 per cent respectively.
In 2019, IPV (Two) vaccines were also introduced, showing 97 per cent coverage, 91 per cent in 2020 and 97 per cent in 2021.
“We have actually eliminated polio. We don’t see polio cases here, and that is because we have a very robust vaccination programme. In 2017, using the IPV vaccine, we had 94 per cent coverage,” Dr Anthony stated.
“I think for both IPV One and IPV Two, at 98 and 97 per cent, that’s very extensive coverage and we will continue to maintain those numbers.”
A trivalent vaccine targeting Type One, Type Two, and Type Three of the polio virus was initially used to vaccinate persons. However, with the elimination of Type Two Polio came the introduction of a bivalent vaccine, targeting only the two circulating types.
Instead of oral polio vaccines for children, Guyana also made a switch to using the inactivated vaccine which is typically injected. This change came amid recommendations that continued usage of oral vaccines may not generate the same efficacy.
“We have made this switch so this is something that is recommended by the WHO [World Health Organisation]. We did that in 2016. We started switching from oral polio vaccines to now the inactivated vaccines. So far, we have been successful in terms of administering these vaccines. I must say that we’re one of the first countries perhaps in the Caribbean and the Americas who have made this switch,” he indicated.
Poliomyelitis (polio) is a highly infectious viral disease that largely affects children under five years of age. The virus is transmitted by person-to-person spread mainly through the faecal-oral route or, less frequently, by contaminated water or food. It multiplies in the intestine, from where it can invade the nervous system and cause paralysis.
The Health Minister noted that the vaccination campaign has been quite successful since placid paralysis – one of the conditions observed if persons are not properly vaccinated – has not been detected.
In 1988, the World Health Assembly adopted a resolution for the worldwide eradication of polio, marking the launch of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, spearheaded by national Governments; WHO; Rotary International; the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); and UNICEF, who were later joined by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance.