In MT, 68% of children have not yet been vaccinated against polio

So far, around 66,100 children have been vaccinated against polio in Mato Grosso. The number corresponds to 32% of the target audience, which is 205,900 boys and girls aged one to under 5 statewide. In Brazil, around 7 million children have not yet been vaccinated against infantile paralysis. Nationwide, of the estimated target population of 11.2 million, only 4 million (20.31%) have been immunized against polio or infantile paralysis.

The data comes from the Ministry of Health (MS), which launched the concept “Movimento vaccina Brasil. It is more protection for everyone ”, on 5 October. The action ends at the end of the month, simultaneously with the multivaccination campaign, which aims to update the vaccination situation of children and adolescents under 15 years of age. In the latter initiative, all the vaccines of the national vaccination calendar are proposed.

Now, according to the Ministry of Health, the recommendation to states that do not reach the goal is to continue with routine vaccination, offered throughout the year in 42,000 health centers in the country. “Brazil reaffirms its international commitment to keep the country polio-free, with the completion of the national vaccination campaign, which will last until the end of October. However, the municipal vaccination coverage is still heterogeneous, which could lead to the formation of pockets of unvaccinated people, allowing the reintroduction of the poliovirus, ”said health surveillance secretary Arnaldo Medeiros, via the press office.

Explain that to have the full vaccination schedule, children need to be immunized with four doses, given at two and four and six months of age, and two more boosters, at 15 months and four years. After that, the child has to go to health centers to take the campaign dose every year, until he is five.

The vaccine is also recommended for children who have a cough, flu, runny nose, rhinitis or diarrhea. For those with acute infections, with fever above 38 ° C or with hypersensitivity to any component of the vaccine, the Ministry of Health recommends parents to consult a doctor to consider whether the vaccine should be applied. The vaccine is extremely safe and has an immune effectiveness of between 90% and 95%.

FREE AREA – Brazil has been polio-free since 1990 and, in 1994, the country received, from the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO), the Free Area Certification for the Circulation of Wild Poliovirus in its territory. However, there are still endemic countries that detect cases of the disease, Pakistan and Afghanistan, which recorded, in 2020 (up to 10/20) a total of 132 cases of polio. Therefore, vaccination is essential so that cases of infantile paralysis are not registered again in Brazil.

Polio is a serious infectious disease. In most cases, the child does not die if infected, but suffers severe injuries that affect the nervous system, causing irreversible paralysis, especially in the lower limbs. The disease is caused by the poliovirus and the infection occurs mainly by the oral route.