Brazil´s Ministry of Health launches National Vaccination Campaign

As of today (Aug. 8), about 40,000 vaccination rooms across the country will be open to administer doses of 18 types of immunizers provided in the national vaccination schedule.

The National Vaccination Campaign, launched this Sunday (Aug. 7), has the purpose to combat poliomyelitis and other diseases, and recovering the vaccination coverage of children and adolescents who have stopped taking the immunizations provided for in the national schedule.

The Ministry of Health expects to immunize 14.3 million children under 5 years old against poliomyelitis.

Multivaccination

Multi-vaccination is intended for children and adolescents under 15 years of age and it includes the following immunizers: Hepatitis A and B; Penta (DTP/Hib/Hep B), Pneumococcal 10 valent; IPV (Inactivated Poliomyelitis Vaccine); HRV (Human Rotavirus Vaccine); Meningococcal C (conjugated); OPV (Oral Poliomyelitis Vaccine); Yellow fever; MRM (Measles, Rubella, Mumps); Tetraviral (Measles, Rubella, Mumps, Chickenpox); DTP (triple bacterial); Chickenpox and quadrivalent HPV (Human Papillomavirus Vaccine).

For teenagers, the following immunizers will be provided: HPV; DT (adult double); Yellow fever; MRM; Hepatitis B, DTPA, and Meningococcal ACWY (conjugated).

According to the ministry, from the age of three, COVID-19 vaccines can be administered simultaneously, or at any interval with other immunizers.

The last case of polio in Brazil was registered in 1989. However, the vaccination coverage of the population decreased worldwide, mainly during the period of the COVID-19 pandemic, Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga said. During the launching event, he urged families to take their children to be vaccinated.

"I ask parents to take their children to be vaccinated. It is unacceptable that today, in the 21st century, 100 years after Oswaldo Cruz's extraordinary effort to introduce these health concepts in Brazil, we still have children with diseases that can be preventable by vaccine," he stated.