17% of Brazilians took the bivalent vaccine against Covid – 12/14/2023 – Health

Almost a year after the start of application in Brazil, the bivalent vaccine against Covid is still in low demand.

According to data released by the Ministry of Health, national coverage stagnated at 17%. The highest vaccination rates are recorded in the state of São Paulo, with 23%, followed by the Federal District and Piauí, both with 20%. On the other hand, Pará, Mato Grosso do Sul and Alagoas have only 11% of the population immunized.

Currently, in the country, the bivalent vaccine is administered to all adults over 18 years of age and to immunocompromised adolescents over 12 years of age, who are considered risk groups. It can only be taken by those who received at least two doses of the monovalent dose at least six months ago.

Even with the end of the health emergency declared by the World Health Organization (WHO), Covid still kills, especially the most susceptible people.

New strains continue to emerge, and there are many variants of concern or being monitored with the potential to trigger new outbreaks.

One in particular, JN.1, is spreading across Europe and has already caused an outbreak in Ceará since it was first detected in the country last month.

Although the WHO states that this strain presents a low risk to global health, in Ceará cases have been increasing since the second half of November, and 80% of the sequenced samples correspond to this variant.

Given this scenario, the Ministry of Health established a booster of the bivalent vaccine for people over 60 years of age and for immunocompromised people over 12 years of age who received the last dose more than six months ago.

According to the ministry, even if Covid does not show seasonal behavior, there is concern about the end of year parties and holidays, periods of great mobility and crowds that, in previous years, resulted in waves of the disease at the beginning of the following year.

For experts, several factors are behind the low demand. “With the drop in the number of deaths, people are less worried”, observes infectious disease specialist Emy Akiyama Gouveia, from Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein. “There is also a lack of publicity”, says the expert. The vaccine does not prevent the disease, but remains effective in preventing severe forms.

Bivalent will be part of the national vaccination calendar

In 2024, the bivalent vaccine will be included in the national vaccination calendar for children over six months of age and under five years of age. In this age group, the vaccination schedule will have three doses. Those who have already received vaccines in 2023 will not need to repeat them.

In addition to this public, the vaccine will also be aimed at risk groups, which include: the elderly, immunocompromised, pregnant and postpartum women, health workers, indigenous people, riverside and quilombola communities, people with permanent disabilities, homeless people, people deprived of liberty and young people complying with socio-educational measures, as well as people living in long-term care institutions and their workers.

This year, until November 25, Brazil registered 1,747,130 cases and 13,936 deaths from Covid.

What to do in case of flu-like symptoms?

• Maintain isolation and wear a mask at home and at work, avoiding contact with people at risk as much as possible
• Try to leave environments well ventilated and adopt cleaning measures, especially the most frequently touched surfaces (such as door handles, tables, switches, etc.)
• Wash your hands with soap and water if they are visibly dirty or use alcohol gel when they are not dirty
• Apply respiratory etiquette, that is, cover your cough or sneeze with a disposable tissue or the back of your arms if you are not using a mask in an environment where more people are present
• Seek medical attention and get tested on the second day of symptoms. If the result is negative, consider repeating on the fourth or fifth day

What is the recommendation if you test positive for Covid-19?

• Maintain home isolation for 7 days, with the possibility of reducing it to 5 days if you have no fever in the last 24 hours and test negative at the end of the 5th day
• Monitor for signs of worsening and seek a health service if it worsens
• Wear a mask until ten days after the onset of symptoms
• Elderly and immunocompromised people should seek a healthcare facility to receive antiviral medication