The Ministry of Health (Minsa) reiterated this Monday that the recent decision in the United States to eliminate the mandatory requirement for some vaccines will have no impact on the vaccination scheme applied in Panama. This clarification was made by Minsa and the Expanded Program on Immunization (PAI) after the United States eliminated mandatory vaccination. The head of the PAI, Itzel de Hewitt, explained that the regulation announced in the United States establishes that vaccines such as influenza, COVID-19, rotavirus, hepatitis A and B, and meningococcal meningitis remain available, but now through a process of 'shared clinical decision-making' between doctors and parents. She emphasized that Panama has no plans to modify the current scheme. 'We are not going to change our scheme because each country is sovereign in its public health actions,' said Hewitt, referring to Law No. 48 of December 5, 2007, which regulates the vaccination process in the Republic of Panama.
