The polio vaccination campaign ends this Friday (30), after running for over a month. The initiative has been marked by lower than expected vaccination rates. In Santa Catarina, behavior was no different.

Campaign only reached 73.05% of target audience – Photo: City of Chapeco/ND

According to campaign data provided by the Department of Health, the state administered a total of 285,631 doses, which were distributed among children aged 1 to 4 years.

The goal was to achieve 95% vaccination of the target audience. However, adherence was low, with Santa Catarina only achieving 73.05% of the target value.

This year the vaccination period has even been extended to increase adherence. At first he went until September 9, but was changed to this Friday. To check the full details, just click here.

The Importance of Vaccination

During the 30th Pan American Sanitary Conference, Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga warned of the risk of polio returning to the country and stressed the importance of preparing an updated outbreak response plan in line with the operating procedures established by the WHO (World Health Organization). .

“We need to expand vaccination coverage and strengthen our surveillance systems to avoid the risk of a re-emergence of this vaccine-preventable disease in our region. We need to act now. We need to work together,” he said.

Brazil has not had a confirmed case of the disease since 1989 and has even received a certificate of eradication from PAHO (Pan American Health Organization). However, the reported low coverage is indicative of the risk of a recurrence of the disease.

The campaign provides for the vaccination of children from 1 to 5 years (4 years, 11 months and 29 days). Children under one year of age should be vaccinated according to the vaccination status established for the main calendar, 1st dose at 2 months, 2nd dose at 4 months and 3rd dose at 6 months of VIP vaccine.