By Ana Celia Ossame, special for Portal do Holanda
Even though in 2023 there will be fewer children born than those who took the first dose of polio vaccine, also known as infantile paralysis, the state of Amazonas is among those that managed to apply sufficient and necessary doses to prevent diseases in children, according to a survey released by the Unicef office, the United Nations Children’s Fund, in Manaus.
In 2022, 76,515 first doses of Polio VIP were administered in the State, a sufficient number to cover the 72,519 children born that year or in the indicated age group.
In 2023, when 67,069 children were born, 66,961 doses of this vaccine were administered, a number almost equal to the total number of children in the age group.
The disease, eradicated in the country since 1989, can cause both death and serious motor consequences in children and the drop in vaccination coverage is a cause for concern about infantile paralysis, as the disease is also known. This is because the virus destroys parts of the nervous system, causing permanent paralysis in the legs or arms. In very rare cases, the virus can attack the parts of the brain that help you breathe, which can lead to death.
The Health and Nutrition Officer at Unicef in Manaus, Neideana Ribeiro, highlights that as World Immunization Week is celebrated, these data bring good news about advances in childhood immunization.
According to her, even though in 2023 the number of children who did not receive the vaccine will be lower, the data is encouraging and the involvement of social assistance from municipal administrations is important to search for these unimmunized children.
“It takes commitment from the State, the parents and involving social assistance to find children who are not being immunized. Partnerships are needed, a task force is needed to support municipalities in this search”, said the official.
For Unicef, these data prove the resumption of childhood immunization in the country, but progress still needs to be made. The body suggests an intersectoral effort, uniting Health, Education and Social Assistance to further improve these indices.
Based on data collected from the Ministry of Health, Unicef showed that in 2022, 243 thousand children of the 2.56 million born in Brazil did not receive the vaccine, while 2.32 million received the first doses of Polio (VIP).
In 2023, this figure improved: a total of 152.5 thousand children of the 2.42 million children in Brazil were not vaccinated, while 2.27 million received the first doses of Injectable Polio.
