[Ranking of the National Immunization Programs in Latin America, 2021- 2022]

In 2019, the Latin American Observatory of National Immunization Programs (NIPs) was created to analyze their situation through an annual ranking. The objective of this study was to evaluate and compare the performance of NIPs in 19 countries in the region between 2021-2022, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A retrospective, observational, and descriptive study was conducted on different domains of the NIPs: vaccination schedules and coverage by age group, influenza and COVID-19 vaccination, immunization of special populations, and programatic aspects. Data were collected from official government sources, international health organizations, and interviews with experts from each country. A scoring system was applied to generate the ranking.

More than 70% of the countries showed some recovery in vaccination coverage, although not reaching pre-pandemic levels. Chile, Uruguay, Costa Rica, and Panama maintained their leadership of previous years due to complete vaccination schedules and high programmatic standards. The lowest-scoring countries had limited schedules, low coverage rates, and gaps in data transparency and electronic immunization records. Following the decline in 2020-2021, 16 of the 18 evaluated countries (Venezuela was not compared) improved their scores in 2022.

The NIPs ranking serves as a comparative tool to promote improvements in immunization policies across Latin America. The regional priority remains the recovery of vaccination coverage. Furthermore, strengthening electronic records, data transparency, and political commitment with sustained investment are essential to ensure robust programmatic structures and effective immunization strategies.