a On Sunday (July 16), the Paraná government launched a new campaign to encourage vaccination in the state. Paraná has always been a reference in vaccination coverage in Brazil, but in recent years it has suffered from a decline in demand for vaccines, which is taking place throughout the national territory.
Among the main factors related to not achieving the annual targets are fear of negative events, fear of needles, and lack of awareness of risks in relation to diseases, in addition to the spread of false news from the anti-vaccination movement that grew during the Covid-19 epidemic.
TV, radio, newspaper ads and digital pieces will show that vaccination is safe and effective, in addition to being a cheap solution and a major public health gain. The aim is to promote the importance of immunization and to clearly show the benefits of all vaccines, at all ages.
To talk about it in a real way, the campaign features two characters: a father and a son in a familiar toddler-age situation, as they ask, “Why?” For everything. In a straightforward question-and-answer format, the campaign promotes why vaccination is important and safe. The idea is to reach both adults and children.
Vaccination contract
Paraná was the first Brazilian state to collectively join the National Vaccine Awareness Pact, an initiative launched at the end of last year by the National Council of the Public Ministry (CNMP) to increase immunization rates in the country. All other powers and state agencies joined the initiative in April this year.
One of the National Compact’s proposals is to promote broad communication campaigns that seek population commitment to the National Program for Immunization (PNI). The idea is to educate Brazilians about the importance, safety and efficacy of vaccines and warn of the current risks of resurgence of infectious diseases that have already been eradicated in the country, such as polio.
Brazil was once a global benchmark in immunization, thanks to measures such as PNI, but has seen a decline in vaccination coverage in recent years. According to UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund), between 2019 and 2021 there was a decrease from 93.1% to 71.49% in the rate of Brazilian children vaccinated with the trivalent viral vaccine, which protects against measles, mumps and rubella, and from 84.2% to 67.7% in vaccination against polio.
In Paraná, despite regular immunization campaigns, rates have also fallen. According to the state health department, there has been a decrease since 2015 in coverage of the eight recommended immunization immunizations for children younger than one year of age. As a result, there are a large number of unvaccinated people, which increases the risk of diseases returning.
The state’s polio immunization coverage rose, for example, from 90.5% in 2015 to 83.25% in 2022. In the same period, BCG, which prevents tuberculosis, fell from 101%, vaccinating more residents. prospects. that year, to 87.5% last year.
