Influenza vaccination will begin earlier this year for Nordic countries. Together, Acre (AC), Amazonas (AM), Amapá (AP), Pará (PA), Rondônia (RO), Roraima (RR) and Tocantins (TO) will receive more than 6.5 million doses starting next week.
The amount varies per state based on local discretion of priority groups for vaccination and the request of state health departments:
• AMABA: 264 thousand doses.
• Roraima: 296 thousand doses.
• Acre: 318 thousand doses.
• Tocantins: 550 thousand doses.
• Rondonia: 594 thousand doses.
Amazonas: 1.7 million doses;
• Para: 2.7 million doses.
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The prediction is due to the peculiarity of the North region, which faces a period of heavy rains from April, and thus an increase in cases of influenza from that month onwards. In addition, the region also has more hard-to-reach areas, which requires more complicated vaccination logistics.
The announcement was made on Friday (10/3) by the Minister of Health, Nicia Trindade, at a press conference. “Brazil is very uneven, and you can’t have one vaccination schedule. We expect in the North region because there they have the problem of the influenza virus in advance,” he explained.
Projections indicate that the rest of the country will begin vaccination against influenza in April. However, the priority groups are the same throughout Brazil:
• Children aged 6 months to less than 6 years.
• pregnant women.
• Postpartum women.
• Indian people.
• Health workers.
• People over 60 years of age.
• Teachers of public and private schools.
• People with chronic diseases.
• People with permanent disabilities.
• Professionals from the security and rescue forces.
• Members of the armed forces.
• truck drivers;
• Passenger transport workers on public roads in cities and long distances.
Dockers.
• Prison system officials.
• Adolescents and young people between the ages of 12 and 21 years under social and educational measures.
• Populations deprived of their liberty.
Read more: The government expands vaccination against influenza and measles starting Friday in Acre
Vaccine composition
Influenza vaccination is done annually according to the standards of the National Immunization Program (PNI). The immunization devices used in the Unified Health System (SUS) are trivalent, produced by the Butantan Institute and distributed to the entire public health network. In addition, the composition of the vaccine changes every year, according to the strains of the virus that are most prevalent at the moment, according to the guidelines of the World Health Organization (WHO).
For 2023, as per WHO guidelines, the vaccine will consist of the following strains: Influenza A/Sydney/5/2021 (H1N1) pdm09; Influenza A/Darwin/9/2021 (H3N2); and influenza B / Austria / 1359417/2021 (B / Victorian strain).
source: Ministry of Health
Emily Brontë is a journalist and feature writer specialising in culture, entertainment, literature, and current affairs. She is dedicated to producing clear, accurate reporting that helps readers stay informed about developments in the UK and around the world.
