2024-02-22 15:04:47
The beginning of the year is usually people’s favorite time to catch up on appointments and exams. Doctors warn that, in addition to recurring visits to specialists, extra care is needed with the family: checking that everyone’s vaccination records are also up to date.
Pediatrician and president of the Brazilian Society of Immunizations (SBIM), Mônica Levi, explains that it is important to follow the vaccination schedule, organized by age groups – from newborns to the elderly. She says that respecting this plan is important to guarantee one’s own and collective health. “The idea is not to vaccinate to contain outbreaks, but to have a population vaccinated so that outbreaks do not occur,” she says.
Read also Federal District Dengue: vaccination of children aged 10 and 11 continues this holiday Federal District Vaccination of children once morest dengue begins with queues in DF Brazil Dengue: even with an epidemic, SUS has not yet defined the start of vaccination Brazil Vaccination once morest dengue will be limited on the private network
She highlights the importance of talking regarding vaccination because of the low coverage, increasingly evident in Brazil in recent years. The year 2015, for example, was the last to reach the 95% vaccination coverage rate – the necessary target of vaccinated people to consider the disease under control. With the low rate of immunization, according to the pediatrician, the population is more vulnerable to diseases and infections.
The president of SBIM recommends checking your vaccination card frequently. “It is essential at all ages to control the vaccines applied. A teenager, for example, may have missed a vaccine in childhood or not completed the vaccination schedule with all doses. Therefore, it is important to update as soon as possible”, says Levi.
The increase in dengue cases and the lack of vaccine are worrying
Luís Fernando Aranha Camargo, infectious disease specialist and professor at the Albert Einstein Israeli Faculty of Health Sciences, warns that special attention is needed for diseases such as Covid-19, flu and, now, dengue.
“It is an epidemic that has already started and will see an increase in cases this year, even with the vaccine being made available in the Unified Health System (SUS). Therefore, it is essential that the population takes precautions and remains aware of this new vaccine (dengue) and the other vaccines prescribed in the vaccination calendar”, advises Camargo.
However, experts explain that it is not always possible to predict seasonal diseases or those that fluctuate throughout the year. “In 2019, for example, there was an outbreak of yellow fever circulating in the South and Southeast of Brazil, mainly in Minas Gerais. In 2022, we had high numbers of the disease caused by the monkeypox virus”, highlights the infectious disease specialist.
The president of SBIM highlights that, even though the fluctuation of infectious diseases is common, the low vaccination coverage can directly affect the risk group: unvaccinated children or those with an incomplete vaccination schedule, the elderly and immunocompromised patients. “The flu for an elderly person is always a greater risk than for a young, healthy person. For this reason, we need to see vaccination as a social commitment, in addition to its own individual benefit”, highlights Levi.
The experts consulted by the Einstein Agency report the population’s difficulty in seeing the dangers of a disease when it is not imminent. Infectious disease specialist Camargo brings as an example the immunization of the bivalent Covid-19 vaccine, which began to be applied in 2023, but has shown low rates – less than 20% of the target audience took the vaccine.
Mônica Levi states that the low acceptance of the vaccine is due to the fact that the severity of the disease is no longer as noticeable as before. Still, explains the doctor, Covid-19 is considered potentially serious and can evolve into Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). Covid-19 was responsible for 5,310 cases of SARS and 135 deaths among children under 5 years of age in Brazil in 2023, according to the Ministry of Health’s epidemiological bulletin, which gathers data until November.
According to the president of SBIM, the population’s lack of perception of disease risks and misinformation regarding vaccines are the biggest challenges to increasing vaccination coverage rates. On the other hand, she cites “microplanning” strategies from the National Immunization Plan (PNI) that have been reversing low vaccination rates, by contacting managers, the population and influencers from different regions of Brazil to look for the best strategy to be adopted. on site to encourage vaccination.
Recently, the Ministry of Health also announced an increase in vaccination coverage of eight vaccines in the children’s calendar in 2023, when compared to the previous year. The Hepatitis A rate, for example, went from 73% in 2022 to 79.5% in 2023.
Vaccination should not be selective
The pediatrician and president of SBIM emphasizes that all immunizers included in the national vaccination calendar have the same level of importance and are recommended following studies, in-depth scientific evidence, discussions with experts and experiences with immunization plans in other countries.
“Perhaps one disease has a higher degree of lethality, or another is more frequent during a certain period, but this does not mean that the vaccine for one disease should be considered more or less important than another.”
She highlights that maintaining a vaccination card is also an important factor for those planning to travel. “Some countries require some specific vaccinations from tourists to avoid infections that are on the rise in other parts of the world, as in the case of the measles outbreak on the European continent”, explains the expert. (Source: Einstein Agency)
Follow the Health editor on Instagram and stay up to date with everything on the subject!
window._taboola = window._taboola || [];
_taboola.push({
mode: “rec-reel-2n5-a”,
container: “taboola-mid-article-reco-reel”,
placement: “Mid Article Reco Reel”,
target_type: “mix”
});
1708618450
#Updating #vaccination #record #prevent #outbreaks #Understand
