Government relaunches child vaccination card after three years

The Ministry of Health launched, this Friday (5), the 6th edition of the Child Health Handbook. The document which, among its main responsibilities, monitors the vaccination calendar, remained three years without being drawn up and distributed to health units spread across the country.

The booklet brings new features such as updating the National Immunization Program (PNI) calendar, which includes doses against Covid-19, available for babies from six months of age. Furthermore, the ministry is preparing an integration with the Meu SUS Digital application.

In addition to being a guide for families and caregivers to control their children’s vaccination cycle, the booklet, also called Citizenship Passport, provides guidance to reduce child mortality and promote the healthy development of minors.

“It guides those responsible from the first moment of life, advises on vaccines, on all child care. It is a booklet of health, of citizenship”, said the Minister of Health, Nísia Trindade.

Minister Nísia reinforced the importance of the booklet being published again after three years of interruption. The resumption of the preparation, printing and logistics process began in March of last year. For her, the launch represents “the resumption of a right for children and families”.

“We are so happy with the launch of this edition after three years that families did not have this important contribution to guide their care for children who arrive and need to be welcomed”.

The Children’s Booklet had its printing and distribution suspended during the Covid-19 pandemic. The company with which the ministry had signed a contract, at the time, claimed difficulties in obtaining raw materials and, eventually, went into deactivation, which caused the contract to be broken.

Rio de Janeiro (RJ), 04/05/2024 – The Minister of Health, Nísia Trindade, during the launch of the 6th edition of the Child Health Handbook. Photograph: Tomaz Silva/Agência Brasil

Passbook

The booklet is divided into two parts. The first is aimed at families and caregivers. “It’s the ministry’s way of communicating with these families, transmitting information based on scientific evidence”, explains the coordinator of Child and Adolescent Health Care at the Ministry of Health, Sonia Venancio.

The initial part also provides information about breastfeeding, accident prevention and the importance of affection, for example.

The vaccination schedule follows that determined by the PNI, providing, for example, doses of vaccines against meningitis (ACWY), triple viral (which fights measles, mumps and rubella), yellow fever, HPV and pentavalent (against diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, hepatitis B and influenza).

The second part of the booklet is aimed at health professionals, being an instrument that supports the work of primary care teams, as a record of consultations and children’s development. Coordinator Sonia Venancio added that the ministry will provide online qualification for agents to make better use of the material.

Furthermore, the booklet allows intersectoral monitoring, that is, professionals from other areas, such as education, can also make records in the booklet.

The Ministry of Health provided 6.5 million Citizenship Passports, enough for all babies born in the country in two years. The investment was R$17,980 million.

Half of the copies will be distributed in the first half of 2024, and for the Special Indigenous Health District (Dsei), the entire shipment will be received by June. These districts are units of federal health responsibility corresponding to one or more indigenous lands.

The ministry makes the booklet reach the population through the health departments of capital cities and the state health departments, which send them back to other municipalities. Coordinator Sonia Venancio detailed that delivery was prioritized in the states of the North and Northeast, which have the worst health rates for children. In the Northeast, all states have already received the first half of the year.

The booklets can also be accessed on the ministry’s website. There are versions for girls and boys.

IFF Centenary

The launch was in Rio de Janeiro, during a ceremony in honor of the Fernandes Figueira Institute (IFF), linked to the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), which turns 100 years old.

Among those present, little Apolo Aguiar dos Santos, just 11 days old. Son of Aline de Oliveira and Hugo Teixeira, he was born under the care of the IFF. Parents received a copy of the booklet. The baby is Adonis’s twin, who could not be taken because he was receiving health care.

Founded in 1924, Instituto Fernandes Figueira is a national reference in the health care of women, children and adolescents. In addition to services, IFF is dedicated to professional training and scientific research. In 2006, the institute was recognized by the Ministry of Education as a teaching hospital.

Since 2010, the IFF has been an auxiliary body of the Ministry of Health, with the responsibility of developing, coordinating and evaluating integrated actions, aimed at the health area at a national level. The institution houses the National Reference Center of the Global Network of Human Milk Banks (rBLH).

Dengue

Minister Nísia Trindade commented on the situation of the dengue epidemic in the country. She acknowledged that some states point to a decline in the number of cases, but highlighted that there is still a need to reinforce care, such as combating mosquito outbreaks. Aedes aegyptitransmitter of the disease, and care for those infected, especially with the severe form of dengue.

*With information from Agência Brasil

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