About 108,110 nine-year-old children will also receive a dose of the vaccine during the week, the head of the extended program of immunization in Cuba, Lena López, told the press. The official called on the parents to go to the vaccination centers during these days, coinciding in time with the school break week.

According to López, all health areas in all provinces of the country have the human and material resources to implement the program.

Those children who, due to problems, could not be vaccinated, will take the recovery dose from April 24th to 28th.

López also announced that the closing activities of the campaign will coincide with the Vaccination Week in the Américas, in which all countries of the region will carry out actions on April 28th in order to raise the immune status of the population.

"Cuba has been the only country in the region that supplies polio vaccine through campaigns, proving its effectiveness in the island, and takes into account that it is a disease with great consequences," she said.

About 83,800,000 doses of the polio vaccine have been used in the island from 1962 to 2016, so all the population under 69 years is protected against the disease.

According to the World Health Organization, poliomyelitis has been a highly contagious disease that most commonly affects infants and young children, caused by a virus that invades the nervous system and can cause paralysis in a matter of hours. (PL)

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