By Andrea Hargraves 
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| Parents and guardians of children and adolescents under the age of 15 must go to immunization centers. (Photo: Andra Rgo Barros/PCR) |
“It is very important for the population to keep in mind that the immunization agents available in this national campaign are already part of the blueprint for these masses and, therefore, vaccines for diseases such as polio, MMR, meningococcal, pneumococcal, dtp, among others. Vaccination rooms are available year-round.So, if you have a son or daughter or are responsible for a child or adolescent under the age of 15, it is important to research the more than 2,400 vaccination rooms in the state, equipped with a vaccination booklet, for a specialist to analyze. If that individual needs a dose of the vaccine,” reinforces the state’s superintendent of vaccinations, Anna Catarina de Mello.
Currently in the state, vaccination coverage against vaccinations intended for the public less than one year is defined as: BCG (73.59%), pneumococcal (68.71%), pentavalent (66.91%), polio (66.67%), meningococcal ( 65.47%) and human rotavirus (65.10%).
For those over one year of age, the situation follows the same profile: hepatitis A (62.94%), trivirus – D1 and D2 (72.26% and 44.07%), meningococcal C (66.37%), pneumococcus (66.15) %), polio – first fortification (52.04%), 2-arm (40.13%) dTp – first fortification (57.61%), second fortification (47.28%), chicken pox (63.91%).
“Vaccination is an important protection tool against various diseases. During the pandemic caused by Covid-19, many people have stopped seeking health services for immunization, thus creating pockets of people who are not immunized against those vaccine-preventable diseases. As a society, we need To be vigilant and to strengthen individual and collective protection and help prevent the spread of these diseases among our children and youth”, emphasized the Minister of State for Health, André Longo.
For children under 7 years of age, the units provide the following immunizing agents: BCG, hepatitis B, pentavalent, polio, rotavirus, pneumococcal 10, meningococcal C, yellow fever, MMR, chickenpox, hepatitis A and DTP . Hepatitis B, yellow fever, meningococcal ACWY, HPV, and chickenpox can be dosed starting at age seven and up to children under 15 years old.
Adolescents who have already taken the Covid-19 vaccine can receive vaccines against other diseases simultaneously or at any time between doses of different immunobiologicals. Last October, the Ministry of Health granted permission for the joint administration of Covid-19 and other vaccines in the Vaccine Calendar.