The Minister of Health, Marcelo Queiroga, made a statement on radio and TV on Sunday night (6) asking parents and guardians to vaccinate children against polio.
According to data from the ministry, the vaccination campaign that took place in August and September of this year vaccinated less than 70% of the target audience, consisting of children aged zero to five years. The goal is to immunize 95% of children in this age group across the country.
“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 there has been a vaccine for so long.”
Poliomyelitis, also known as infantile paralysis, is an acute contagious disease caused by a virus that lives in the intestine, the poliovirus, and that can infect children and adults through direct contact with feces and secretions eliminated through the mouth of patients. In severe cases, in which muscle paralysis occurs, the lower limbs are the most affected.
“For 32 years, the region of the Americas has been considered free of poliomyelitis, but unfortunately vaccine coverage is falling in the world, as well as in our Brazil”, said Queiroga in the statement. According to him, the low rate of vaccination against the disease was aggravated by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The Ministry of Health is committed to keeping Brazil free from poliomyelitis”, he highlighted. The minister stated that, during the 30th Pan American Sanitary 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 recalled that last week the government launched a plan to combat polio with the objective of organizing the work of the Union, states and municipalities. Among the priority actions is the strengthening of epidemiological surveillance and vaccination.
“Vaccines are still available at vaccination posts. It is possible to achieve the goal. Therefore, it is necessary to engage health managers and civil society. States such as Paraíba and Amapá, for example, have already vaccinated more than 90% of the target public”, said the minister.
Source: CNN Brasil
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