According to data from the Department of Health, updated at the end of the campaign last Friday (30), in cities on the north coast of Santa Catarina, influenza vaccination coverage was about 43.7%.

The region includes the cities of Balneario Camboriu, Balneario Pizarras, Bombinhas, Camboriu, Itajai, Navegantes, Peña, Porto Belo and Itapema.

Even after the end of the campaign, the municipality continues to apply doses as long as stocks last – Photo: Itajai City Hall/Disclosure

Check vaccination data on the North Shore

First, it is important to emphasize that vaccination coverage refers to the percentage of people vaccinated in priority groups, namely: pregnant women, the elderly, women in childbirth, health workers, teachers and children.

Unfortunately, the campaign to reach 90% vaccination coverage ended up reaching only 43.7% of the target audience on the north coast of South South Carolina. See diagram below.

The government’s vaccination coverage target was 90% – Chart: Department of Health/North Dakota

In total, 141,000 doses have been applied in the region, and the target population is almost 250,000 people. Check the individual numbers of each municipality.

In total, there were about 250,000 people in the region as a target audience – Graph: DOH/North Dakota.

Each municipality’s secretariat of health is required by the state to continue administering doses of the immunizer in UBS (Basic Medical Units) until supplies are depleted. Anyone older than 6 months can get the vaccine.

In Santa Catarina, national coverage reached approximately 50.2%, with 1.8 million people vaccinated. The target population was almost 3 million.

Low demand even after campaign extension

The 25th National Influenza Vaccination Campaign began on April 10, when it was available to priority groups only. On May 12, the vaccine was released to the population over 6 months of age.

However, due to low demand at the time, the Ministry of Health decided on May 31 that the campaign would be extended for another month and end last Friday (30). Despite this, the achieved vaccination coverage was far from the goal of vaccinating 90% of the target population.

Flu

According to the Ministry of Health, influenza is an acute respiratory infection caused by the influenza virus with a high potential for transmission. The main symptoms of the disease are:

• Heat;
• Sore throat;
• Cough;
• Chills;
• Malaise;
• copious discharge from the nose;
• Body ache;
• Headache.

In addition to vaccination, the main precautions and general preventive measures are:

• Wash your hands with soap and water or use rubbing alcohol, especially before eating;
• Use disposable nasal hygiene wipes;
• cover your nose and mouth when sneezing or coughing;
• Avoid touching the mucous membranes of the eyes, nose and mouth;
• Do not share personal items such as cutlery, plates, cups or bottles;
• Ensure good ventilation of the premises;
• Avoid close contact with people who have signs or symptoms of the flu;
• avoid leaving the house during the period of transmission of the disease;
• Avoid crowds and closed spaces (try to keep the room ventilated);
• Adopt healthy habits such as a balanced diet and fluid intake.