After Brazil once again recorded a high in cases of Covid-19 – data released by the National Council of Health Secretaries (Conass) point to a 262.2% growth in the positivity of tests in the last two weeks -, the capitals of several states of the country seek solutions to increase the demand for the vaccine against the disease.
THE CNN contacted the Brazilian capitals to understand the tools used to stop the new advance of the coronavirus. Among the cities that responded, the most adopted strategy is the so-called active search, which involves calling families and even visiting homes.
In the city of Rio de Janeiro, where 1.5 million people have not reinforced their protection against Covid-19, the active search reaches its seventh day this Tuesday. The concern, according to the municipality’s health secretary, Daniel Soranz, is to proceed with the booster dose to protect people from serious cases and hospitalization due to Covid-19.
Last week, the Fluminense capital even recorded occasional problems with posts without immunization. With the arrival of 200 thousand doses to the city last Friday (18), the expectation was for normalization.
In Brasilia, the Health Department also adopted the active search strategy. In the city, about 37.8% of the population did not receive the booster dose – 855,413 people. Behind them, the folder also implemented the vaccine car, which promotes immunization on an itinerant basis, and the application of doses on weekends.
In the city of Recife, in Pernambuco, where active demand was also applied, there has already been a 28.7% increase in demand for immunization against Covid-19, which went from 1,452 doses applied between November 6th and 12th to 1,870 applications in the week between the 13th and 19th of this month. About 292,000 people eligible for the booster dose have yet to schedule an appointment and 83,000 are behind schedule for the second dose.
In São Paulo, one of the cities with the most advanced vaccination coverage, the Municipal Health Department reported that it observed an increase in demand for the vaccine, but did not quantify it. In São Paulo, approximately 15.2% of the population did not take the additional dose. The municipality also acts with the distribution of disposable masks at bus terminals and prevention guidelines in places of great movement of people.
In Porto Velho, capital of Rondônia, the immunization division of the Municipal Health Secretariat also registered a slight increase in the search for the vaccine. Recently, the folder took immunization to housing projects of popular housing, places with a large concentration of people and, normally, located in more remote environments.
The search was also intensified in Salvador, the capital of Bahia, where D-Day took place last Saturday, with 10,000 doses administered. In addition, the city hall reopened two drive-thru points at strategic points. The city records 224,000 residents with the second dose of the vaccine overdue, 572,000 with the third dose and 751,000 with the fourth dose.
Even with initiatives to search for the population with an overdue vaccine, some municipalities, such as Campo Grande, in Mato Grosso do Sul, and Vitória, in Espírito Santo, did not notice a significant increase in the application of doses.
“It is estimated that around 590,000 people are with at least one of the doses overdue, either the second, to finalize the primary scheme, or the booster doses”, announced the prefecture of MS.
* Under the supervision of Pauline Almeida
Source: CNN Brasil
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