From this Monday (15), the entire population over 6 months old can take the flu vaccine. The expansion of the public was announced by the Ministry of Health last Friday (12). The goal, according to the folder, is to expand vaccination coverage against the disease before winter, when respiratory infections tend to increase. “The guidance responds to the request of states and municipalities, which can use vaccines in stock and adopt local strategies to operationalize immunization, taking into account the realities of each region. More than 80 million doses of the trivalent vaccine, produced by the Butantan Institute, were distributed throughout the country. The goal is to vaccinate 90% of the population”, highlighted the ministry, through a note. The vaccine was being applied only to elderly people over 60 years old; children aged from 6 months to under 6 years; pregnant women, puerperal women (up to 45 days after delivery); immunosuppressed; indigenous; health and education professionals; people with permanent disabilities or with comorbidities; public transport and port professionals; security and rescue force workers; workers in the military and prison system; and population deprived of liberty. The folder reinforced that immunization is fundamental because it reduces the burden of the disease, especially in people with health problems and the elderly, preventing hospitalizations and deaths, in addition to reducing the burden on health services. By the end of April, at least 253 flu deaths were confirmed in the country. Emergency An increase of more than 108%, between January and May of this year, in hospitalizations of children with flu-like illness caused the government of Amapá to declare a public health emergency last Saturday (13). The overcrowding at the Children’s and Adolescents’ Hospital, in the capital Macapá, meant that even administrative rooms were transformed into spaces for 32 new clinical beds. The hospital also increased the number of vacancies in the pediatric Intensive Care Unit (ICU), from 20 to 24. Data from the Health Secretariat of Amapá indicate that, until the end of last week, the public and private hospital network registered more than 190 cases of flu-like hospitalization, 109 of which at the Children’s and Adolescents’ Hospital and at the Children’s Emergency Room. Most patients are aged between 7 months and 4 years. Of the total number of hospitalized patients, 29 were intubated.
Agência Brasil
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