Chile immunizes thousands of children to combat rising measles risk
Summary and headline written by AI from the source article. How we work
The Chilean Ministry of Health (Minsal) vaccinated 44,386 children under the age of 6 as part of a campaign to update immunization records against measles.
Health officials and regional teams identified children with incomplete vaccination records in schools, nurseries, and daycare centers during the second half of the year. They also contacted parents and guardians through phone calls and WhatsApp messages to ensure children received the necessary doses.
Despite these efforts, more than 140,000 children in Chile still lack a complete vaccination schedule, with nearly 62,000 of those children living in the Metropolitan Region. Alejandra Pizarro, the Undersecretary of Public Health, warned that the absence of local measles transmission since 1993 does not mean the virus cannot return. She noted that the country remains vulnerable to outbreaks if children travel abroad or if the virus is imported into the country.
The ministry currently maintains an epidemiological alert and conducts weekly active institutional searches to detect any unreported cases. Giovanni Escalante, the representative of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) in Chile, stated that measles has returned to the Americas and must not be normalized. He emphasized that closing vaccination gaps and identifying cases quickly are essential to prevent future outbreaks.
The PAHO also warned of a high risk of transmission during mass events related to the visit of Pope Leo XIV to Argentina, Peru, and Uruguay in November.
