FMABC 2013

Brazil maintains 95% vaccination coverage over the last 10 years

November 4, 2012

Vaccination coverage in Brazil over the last 10 years has averaged 95% for most vaccines on the child immunization schedule and in vaccination campaigns, according to a government press notice. Vaccines are made freely available in the 35,000 public health care units. Maintaining child immunization schedules up to date ensures health and helps Brazil to continue registering high rates of vaccination coverage against vaccine-preventable diseases.

Brazil's National Immunization Program (PNI) from the Ministry of Health has established schedules not only for the first year of life, but also for children, teenagers, adults and senior citizens. "Brazil has one of the best and most complex immunization programs in the world, offering vaccines against a range of diseases, free of charge. The vaccine is an important ally to control, combat and eliminate these diseases and Brazil is a model for other countries that have not managed to achieve vaccination coverage such as ours," said Jarbas Barbosa, Secretary of Health Monitoring.

As an example, in 2011, the BCG vaccine against tuberculosis achieved 107.7% vaccine coverage; the MMR vaccine against measles, mumps and rubella achieved 102.2% and meningococcal conjugate C, included in the schedule in 2011, achieved 105.5% vaccination coverage. In 2012, during the polio vaccination campaign for children under five years of age, more than 14 million children were vaccinated, attaining vaccination coverage of 98%. Vaccination campaigns against influenza also show the mobilization capacity of the PNI in terms of the population adhering to the call for vaccination. This year, more than 25 million vaccines were registered and total coverage reached 86.24% of the target population, estimated at around 30 million people.

Vaccines provided by Health Ministry

The Ministry of Health provides 43 different types of immunobiologics: 26 vaccines, 13 heterologous sera (animal immunoglobulin) and four homologous sera (human immunoglobulin) used in the prevention and/or treatment of diseases. Since the 1970s, different strategies including campaigns and routine immunization resulted in the elimination of smallpox in 1973, of polio in 1989 and, most recently, the elimination of measles across the country in 2001. In addition to the eradication of these diseases, through vaccination, the program is controlling neonatal tetanus, severe forms of tuberculosis, diphtheria, accidental tetanus and pertussis.

In 2010, two new vaccines were introduced into the vaccination schedule: the 10-valent pneumococcal and the meningococcal conjugate. Aiming to expand the use of combination vaccines, the Ministry of Health included the pentavalent vaccine (diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, Haemophilus influenzae type B and hepatitis B) in the child immunization schedule in 2012, thereby decreasing the number of injections administered to children. The inactivated polio vaccine was also included in the child immunization schedule this year under a vaccine schedule of four sequential doses in children under one year of age who are starting their immunization schedule. For 2013, the Ministry of Health will offer two more vaccines in the routine immunization schedule: varicella and hepatitis A.

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