Port Maria, St. Mary, was the site for Jamaica’s commemoration of Vaccination Week in the Americas 2026 with a Vaccination Outreach and Health Fair at the Giant Family Mart Car Park on Thursday, April 30. The event offered the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccine, Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV), Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) Vaccine, Hepatitis B Vaccine, Influenza (Flu) Vaccine and...

The Portland Health Department is reporting strong compliance among butchers in the parish, with more than 95 per cent of applicants recommended for licensing following the annual Butchers Licensing Session held on April 27. Organised in partnership with the Portland Municipal Corporation, the session brought together butchers and their associates at Hotel Tim Bamboo in Port Antonio for training and...

Chief Public Health Inspector for Westmoreland, Steve Morris, says the parish is seeing a gradual reduction in mosquito breeding, as intensified vector-control measures continue to yield results. Providing an update at the recent meeting of the Westmoreland Municipal Corporation in Savanna-la-Mar, Mr. Morris reported that the parish’s aedes index has declined. “Our team carried out 34,725 visits across the parish...

Hanover Health Services is imploring young people to get the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, which is available at health centres across the parish. The vaccine is among the key shots being administered in the parish this week as part of activities to mark Vaccination Week of the Americas (VWA) from April 25 to May 2. Speaking with JIS News, Senior...

The Westmoreland Public Health Department has expanded its rodent control programme across several communities as part of efforts to address complaints and safeguard public health. Chief Public Health Inspector for the parish, Steve Morris, made the disclosure during the recent monthly meeting of the Westmoreland Municipal Corporation in Savanna-la-Mar. He outlined that the initiative is being strategically deployed in response...

Regional Health Promotion and Education Officer at the Western Regional Health Authority (WRHA), Marceleen Wheatle, has emphasised that embedding regular physical activity in schools is critical to reducing the risk of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) among Jamaica’s population. She explains that initiatives such as National School Moves Day are designed to instill healthy habits from an early age, noting that behaviours...

Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, has issued a strong appeal to Jamaicans to reject the growing anti-vaccination (anti-vax) sentiment, which he notes has intensified since the COVID-19 pandemic. He was speaking during the contract signing for the implementation of the Electronic Immunisation Registry (EIR) Project, held at the Ministry’s Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) Conference Room...