The Ministry of Health (Minsa) announced Monday, May 23, that the hexavalent pediatric vaccine was included in the Expanded Program on Immunization (PAI), which in a single dose protects against diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, polio, and hepatitis B.

The vaccine is also effective in preventing invasive Haemophilus and Influenza type B-2 diseases.

According to Minsa, Panama is the first country in the region to introduce this type of biological in its national vaccination schedule.

Itzel Slocum de Hewitt, the general coordinator of  Minsa, said that there are 100,000 doses available.

The official stated that the use of this vaccine "puts the country at the forefront of vaccination programs in Latin America."

She said that having more effective vaccination programs and investing in vaccines not only offers better protection for the population, but also generates "relevant savings for the State since it reduces the burden on the health system", which is currently overwhelmed by the covid-19 pandemic.

In a report by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), it was emphasized that in 2020, due to the pandemic, a total of 2.7 million children in the Latin American region did not receive essential vaccines.

The PAHO report stressed that the "interruption of vaccination campaigns in the last two years has set back almost three decades of processes in vaccination against polio and measles."