Paraguayan authorities concerned over low vaccination rates

Monday, June 16th 2025 - 20:27 UTC

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Cousirat urged parents to take their children and elders to the vaccination centers

Paraguayan health authorities reported Monday that only 64% of the 1,500,000 influenza vaccine doses available nationwide had been applied by the last week of autumn, which represented an underachievement for the Government of President Santiago Peña.

Expanded Program of Immunization (PAI) Director Luis Cousirat expressed concern over the low immunization rates, particularly among children and older adults, where coverage is only 20% against a 60% target.

Vaccination rates vary by region, with Concepción at 50% and Central and Capital lagging. However, the recent deaths of two unvaccinated siblings (aged 6 and 12) in Itapúa due to influenza complications spurred a weekend surge, with over 5,000 vaccinations. “It seems that people are starting to react again,” Cousirat noted.

An epidemiological alert was issued due to rising hospitalizations from respiratory viruses, mainly influenza. There are 550,000 doses still available across 1,400 vaccination centers.

Meanwhile, the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination program targeting boys aged 9 to 14 and girls aged 10 to 14 has been reshaped so that patients receive a single dose, replacing prior two- or three-dose schedules. Previously, only boys born in 2014 were targeted.

The single-dose approach, endorsed by the World Health Organization (WHO), prevents over 90% of cervical cancer cases and other HPV-related cancers (e.g., penile, anal, oropharyngeal) in both genders and reduces transmission. The Health Ministry urged parents to vaccinate their children to prevent HPV-related cancers.

“The extremes of life are the ones that worry us the most because there is a relationship of exclusive dependence of parents to take the children to the vaccinatories, even accompanying the grandparents,” Cousirat explained.

“We are currently at 20% in both groups. That is, it differs a little between departments, some are already with 50%, such as the northern region of Concepción, and others are further behind, such as Central and Capital,” he added.