Today, Monday (27), the Ministry of Health launched the national polio vaccination campaign, which will continue until June 14. The goal is to vaccinate at least 95% of the target audience, which covers about 13 million children under the age of five. The campaign is expected to reduce the number of unvaccinated children and the risk of polio virus returning to Brazil, in addition to strengthening measures to eradicate the disease.
For National Immunization Program (DPNI) Department Director Eder Jati, the goal is also to increase vaccination coverage and expand access to polio vaccines. “Vaccination is the only way to prevent polio, which is also called polio. We therefore ask parents or guardians to take their children to the nearest clinic so that they do not suffer the consequences of vaccine-preventable diseases.
This year’s campaign is of great importance to combat polio, as the country is going through a transitional phase to replace the two doses of the oral polio vaccine (OPV) with only one booster with the inactivated polio vaccine (VIP). In other words, the vaccination schedule and booster dose will be implemented exclusively with VIPs, starting from the second half of 2024. All states and municipalities will receive the rules and guidelines for this change.
Brazil has not recorded cases of polio since 1989, and five years later, in 1994, it was certified as an area free of wild poliovirus transmission. However, last year, the country was classified as high risk for polio virus resurgence by the Regional Commission for the Certification of Polio Eradication in the Americas (RCC).
This classification was based on vaccination coverage performance, acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) epidemiological surveillance indicators, and laboratory containment status of poliovirus, for example.
On June 8, the Ministry of Health proposes to hold a “D” Day to promote the campaign and mobilize throughout the country. States and municipalities have the autonomy to schedule the event on other dates, according to local characteristics.
Vaccination coverage
In 2022, 77% of children younger than 1 year received the VIP dose. In 2023, the number jumped to 84.63%, according to preliminary data. This year, the percentage of VIP doses applied, at this moment, is 85.42. Last year, the three states with the best vaccination rates were Ceara, at 93%, Piaui, at 92%, and Santa Catarina, at 90%.
resources
To achieve the campaign’s goal, the Ministry of Health invested in modernizing information systems and recording nominal data, with the rehabilitation of vaccination records, the use and loss of immunological biological materials and continuous monitoring of procedures and results. In addition, updates are made to the rules and board implementation “National Vaccination Calendar” And plan actions that adapt to the reality of each region.
This year, the Ministry allocated additional resources of R$150 million to activate the school vaccination strategy, the national polio vaccination campaign, and to monitor polio and measles vaccination strategies in Brazil. Furthermore, transfers administered by the National Health Fund are automatically transferred from one fund to another.
Anna Freire
Ministry of Health
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