Health immunizes less than 70% of children against polio and the Minister asks parents to vaccinate their children

From Cenarium Magazine*

BRASILIA – The Minister of Health, Marcelo Queiroga, made a statement on radio and TV this Sunday night, 6, asking parents and guardians to vaccinate children against polio. According to ministry data, the vaccination campaign that took place in August and September this year vaccinated less than 70% of the target audience, composed of children from zero to five years. The goal is to immunize 95% of children in this age group nationwide.

“I appeal to parents, grandparents, and guardians. Vaccinate your children against polio. We cannot deny this right to the future of our Brazil. We cannot accept that anyone, especially our children, get sick and die from diseases for which vaccine has existed for so long”.

Polio, also known as infantile paralysis, is an acute contagious disease caused by a virus that lives in the intestine, the poliovirus, and can infect children and adults through direct contact with feces and secretions eliminated from the mouths of patients. In severe cases, in which muscle paralysis occurs, the lower limbs are the most affected.

“For 32 years the Americas region has been considered polio-free, but unfortunately vaccination coverage is falling in the world, as well as in our Brazil”, Queiroga said in the statement. According to him, the low vaccination rate against the disease has been aggravated by the covid-19 pandemic.

“The Ministry of Health is committed to keep Brazil free of polio”, he stressed. The minister said that during the 30th Pan-American Health Conference of the Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO), which took place in September in the United States, Brazil reinforced the need for American countries to mobilize to eradicate the disease.

Queiroga also remembered that last week the government launched a plan to fight polio with the objective of organizing the work of the Union, the states, and the municipalities. Among the priority actions is the strengthening of epidemiological surveillance and vaccination.

“The vaccines are still available at the vaccination posts. It is possible to reach the goal. For this, it is necessary the engagement of health managers and civil society. States like Paraíba and Amapá, for example, have already vaccinated more than 90% of the target public”, said the minister.

*With information from Agência Brasil