Polio vaccination has low adherence

29 October 2020 | 9 in the morning

Polio vaccination has low adherence

Fernando Frazão / Agência Brasil
Polio, also called infantile paralysis, is an acute contagious disease, but parents neglected to immunize young children

The national vaccination campaign, which began on 5 October, has not had much support in the country, as well as in cities in the metropolitan region of Vale do Aço (RMVA). In Brazil the campaign will end on the 30th, but an optional point could change the date in the cities of RMVA, bringing forward the end of the mobilization for this Thursday (29). In general, vaccination in health units is carried out daily, with no end in the calendar, but some dates are foreseen in the national calendar by the Ministry of Health to facilitate the updating of the card. From the start of the campaign until the 26th of this month last Monday, only 35% of children (4 million) have been vaccinated against polio across the country, when the estimate was that 7.3 million children would still need be brought by parents or guardians to health centers. The estimated target audience is 11.2 million children aged 1 to less than 5.

The national campaign runs together with the multivaccination campaign, which aims to update the vaccination situation of children and adolescents under 15 years of age. In the latter, all vaccines of the national vaccination calendar are offered. Polio, also called poliomyelitis or infantile paralysis, is an acute contagious disease caused by the poliovirus, which can infect children and adults and, in severe cases, can lead to muscle paralysis, usually in the lower limbs, or even death. Vaccination is the only form of prevention.

RMVA

In Ipatinga, the director of the health surveillance department, Mara Fernanda Andrade, notes that D-Day occurred on October 17, a Saturday, to assist parents and guardians who work during the week and there is no way to bring children to the health unit. Ipatinga’s big concern is that we haven’t had the necessary membership. Our target audience for this campaign, in fighting polio, was to reach an average of 12,500 children, but only 3,200 have been vaccinated so far, which is cause for concern. Municipal Health makes this alert to the population, it is a campaign that will last until October 30th and we appeal to the population. Who did not look for a unit, who goes to the vaccination rooms, ”he asked.

The municipality of Ipatinga has 18 vaccination rooms, 15 of which are open until 9pm to serve the population. ?? So it will not be for lack of time, there is the possibility to bring the child after 17h, 18h, when the parents leave work. The vaccinated child is protected. We cannot let previously eradicated diseases, such as measles, which has reappeared, return forever, we cannot allow polio to return. It has consequences for the rest of your life. All children from one to five years old need to be vaccinated, it’s just a drop, it doesn’t hurt. And those up to 15 must update their vaccination card, ”Mara Andrade warned.

The nurse in charge of the immunization sector of the Timóteo health department, Janeiva Pires, explains that the national campaign will last until October 30, but in the case of the municipality, which will have an optional point, it will be until this Thursday in the case of polio and card update for teens.

• There is a need to reinforce the importance of parents taking their children to vaccination rooms. Vaccination coverage is low. We have a population of children under 5 years of age of approximately 4,200. About 1,500 have been vaccinated so far, only 36% of the range, which is considered low, as polio is a serious disease and has not been eradicated in all countries. So if our coverage continues like this, the likelihood exists that the disease will return and infect our children. We have to be careful to prevent this from happening, ”he stressed.

Fabriciano

The head of health surveillance in Coronel Fabriciano, Danielle Marise, points out that the municipality has started multivaccination at home, a program started in the neighborhoods of Floresta, Caladinho do Meio and Morro do Carmo. ?? Our vaccine team takes you to the resident. Now we are in multivaccination, or the updating of the vaccine booklet, for all ages, especially for adolescents from 9 to 14 years. But everyone can go from 8:00 to 16:00 to update their vaccination card. This polio vaccine was administered in schools. With the suspension of classes in the event of a pandemic and face to face, immunization was lower, a percentage of 57.86%, ”he detailed.

Santana do Paraíso concludes the vaccination campaign against poliomyelitis, measles and multivaccination this Thursday. According to the Municipal Health Secretariat, the Municipality has not yet reached the goal set by the Ministry of Health, which is to immunize 90%. According to the file, so far, of the 2,017 children, only 1,344 have been vaccinated against polio, reaching a percentage of 67.58%. Against measles, 8,306 people have been immunized up to 23 October.