The Ministry of Health and the Google signed a partnership last week. Now, access to official information about Basic Health Units (UBS), including location, contact, opening hours and vaccination schedule, will be easier and more practical throughout Brazil, including Santa Catarina. Currently, the state has 1,783 Primary Health Care (PHC) establishments, of which 1,758 are UBS and health posts, in addition to 17 family health support centers and eight mobile land units.
The work foresees an update of data related to more than 40 thousand health posts across the country in the Search and Google Maps, based on details provided by the Ministry of Health, to offer a more efficient experience to users. In addition, a message with a direct link to the National Vaccination Calendar will now also be displayed in search results such as “health centers near me”.
In practice, when searching for vaccination stations, using, for example, “vaccination near me”, users will find updated address, telephone and business hours data and the link to the National Vaccination Calendar to track immunization dates. The first phase of the initiative was launched last year, during the Google for Brazilwhen the company announced that it would start showing updated information from UBS on its platforms.
The expectation is that the novelty will continue to contribute to awareness efforts for the population to adhere to vaccination campaigns, given the drop in vaccination coverage recorded in recent years.
According to the Google TrendsBrazil is the third most active country in health-related searches and the seventh in interest in vaccination globally, since 2004. In the last 12 months, the country has maintained its position among the top eight in the world ranking.
Partnership
The union expands the portfolio of solutions aimed at public health, launched from the partnership between Google and Ministry of Health. Recently, minister Nísia Trindade recorded a series of videos with YouTube influencers, such as Mari Fulfaro, from the Manual do Mundo channel, journalist Edson Castro, from Manual do Homem Moderno, and doctor Drauzio Varella, to raise awareness on actions to combat dengue and encourage childhood vaccination.
Vaccination coverage
Between 2023 and 2024, the Ministry of Health recorded an increase in vaccination coverage for 13 of the 16 main vaccines on the National Immunization Program (PNI) calendar. Among the growth highlights are vaccines against polio, hepatitis A, yellow fever, MMR (measles, rubella and mumps) and pneumococcal.
More than R$6.5 billion were invested last year in the purchase of immunization agents and the forecast is that these resources will reach R$10.9 billion in 2024. In an unprecedented way, R$150 million were transferred per year to states and municipalities, in support of immunization actions with a focus on microplanning. This method, recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), consists of several activities focused on the local reality, from defining the target population, choosing vaccines, defining vaccination dates and locations, to logistics. The proposal is to align these strategies with local managers and leaders to achieve better results and improve vaccination coverage. These initiatives contribute to achieving vaccination goals.
Ministry of Health
