Guantánamo.- Some 19, 500 children from the easternmost province of Cuba over one month old and under three years of age will receive a second dose of the the vaccination campaign against poliomyelitis.
This group had their first dose in the first stage of the vaccination campaign in March and on this occasion, nearly 7, 492 nine-year-olds will also receive a re-activation dose.
All Cuban citizens under 63 years old are vaccinated against poliomyelitis, a disease that may cause death or leave serious effects such as partial or total disability.
The first national anti-polio campaign was carried out in 1962 and it included 2.4 million Cubans, a third of the population of the island that at that time was estimated at 6.5 million.
Cuba eradicated poliomyelitis 26 years before a still unsuccessful worldwide initiative was launched against this disease in 1988.
