research shows that vaccination coverage of children and adolescents remains low

Vaccination

Coverage is 7% for the complete vaccination schedule and 23% for two doses in children aged 3 to 4 years. Between 5 and 11 years old, 55.9% took two doses and 12.8% the three-application regimen

Four years after the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, officially decreed on March 11, 2020, and just over three years after the start of vaccination in Brazil, vaccination coverage in children and adolescents remains low, according to a study carried out by the Observatory of Childhood Health (Observa Infância), the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) and Unifase. The bulletin also points to a significant drop in the number of deaths in this age group after the start of vaccination, indicating the effectiveness of the vaccine. However, the low demand for the vaccine is still a concern, as it is associated with continued mortality from the disease, warns the document.

Observa Infância analyzed data from February 2024 from the Ministry of Health (MS) on Covid-19 vaccination. They show that vaccination coverage in children aged 3 to 4 years is 23% for two doses and only 7% for the complete vaccination schedule with three doses. In the range of 5 to 11 years, coverage increases to 55.9% with two doses and 12.8% completing the three-dose schedule.

Considering deaths from Covid-19, Observa Infância analyzed data from the Influenza Epidemiological Surveillance System (Sivep-Gripe/Fiocruz) from the first eight epidemiological weeks of each year, between 2021 and 2024. In the period in question in the year 2021 (which corresponds approximately to the end of February) 118 deaths from the disease were recorded among children and adolescents up to 14 years old. The same period in 2022 recorded a total of 326 deaths from Covid-19 in this age group, which represented almost half (47.1%) of deaths from Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).

In 2023, with the vaccine against Covid-19 available for children from six months of age in Brazil, there was a significant drop in numbers: 50 deaths from the disease were recorded in the first eight weeks of the year among children and adolescents up to 14 years old. According to the bulletin, the proportion of these deaths in relation to the total deaths from SARS in that year and period was 24.5%.

In the same period of 2024, 48 deaths from Covid-19 were observed among children and adolescents under 14 years of age, representing 32.4% of deaths from SARS.

According to the bulletin, vaccination coverage for this age group is 11.4%, similar to the percentage of 14.9% observed in the adult population (considering the complete schedule with four doses of the vaccine), which shows a low vaccination coverage against Covid-19 in all age groups.

“The analysis shows that we have a safe, efficient and available vaccine in all municipalities. We need to use the resources we have to guarantee the health of children, especially in an unfavorable scenario with the circulation of other dangerous diseases, such as dengue”, warns the researcher at the Institute of Communication and Scientific and Technological Information in Health (Icict/Fiocruz ) and coordinator of Observa Infância, Cristiano Boccolini.

Observe Childhood

The Childhood Health Observatory (Observa Infância) is a scientific dissemination initiative to bring data and information about the health of children up to 5 years of age to society’s attention. The objective is to expand access to qualified information and facilitate understanding of data obtained from national information systems.

The scientific evidence worked on is the result of investigations carried out by researchers Patricia and Cristiano Boccolini within the scope of the Institute of Communication and Scientific and Technological Information in Health (Icict/Fiocruz) and the Faculty of Medicine of Petrópolis of the Arthur de Sá Earp Neto University Center (FMP /Unifase), with resources from the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

*With information from consultancy.

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