State and PAHO train Health Regions to check vaccination status

The State Department of Health (Sesa), in partnership with the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), started this Tuesday (2) the Rapid Vaccination Monitoring Workshop (MRV). The initiative is part of the strategy that seeks to expand vaccination coverage throughout Paraná.

The objective is to train Regional Health teams to multiply the methodology by focusing on an external action to verify and search, in the field, the vaccination status of the population, recommended by the National Immunization Program (PNI).

The monitoring workshop is one of the stages of the Microplanning for High Quality Vaccination (MVAQ), from the Ministry of Health, which has been taking place throughout the State since last year.

“This activity is part of a continuous movement in favor of the entire population, aiming to further qualify and qualify health professionals, especially those working in immunization, throughout Paraná”, explains the general director of Sesa, César Neves. “We are working hard so that we can maintain high vaccination coverage and, in this way, protect and increase the immunity of the people of Paraná.”

Paraná is the fourth state to undergo the training, which has already been carried out in the Federal District, Roraima and Santa Catarina. On-site verification of the vaccination and immunization status will be carried out in the months of June and July, throughout the country, following the PNI guidelines. Furthermore, this conduct must be applied after the vaccination actions developed by Paraná in the first half of this year.

“The main objective is to seek people who are not vaccinated to complete or start the vaccination schedule. This must occur after vaccination campaigns in schools and influenza, in order to assess whether the target population is really fully vaccinated”, explained the director of Health Surveillance and Attention at Sesa, Maria Goretti David Lopes.

“With this assessment in the territory, house by house, we will have feedback on coverage, whether the target of 90% or 95%, recommended by the Ministry of Health for this public was reached, and, if it was not effective, evaluate and verify which other strategies can be adopted for that particular location”, added the director.

MICROPLANNING – Microplanning for High Quality Vaccination (MVAQ) is an initiative of the Ministry of Health that seeks to expand vaccination coverage and train municipalities to define specific strategies for a given population, detect problems and other issues related to the vaccination schedule.

Qualification occurs by applying a methodology for risk mapping and identifying territories susceptible to the reintroduction of diseases that can be prevented through immunization.

The objective is to train multipliers of the methodology, training the Health Regions and municipalities, which are the executors of the actions. They have an incentive and financial transfer of R$6 million, through Ordinance GM/MS No. 3,288, of March 8, 2024.

RESULTS – After a series of workshops held last year to promote the expansion of vaccination coverage in Paraná, the State surpassed all national immunization rates in 2023, strengthening the immunity of babies, adults and the elderly.

One example is the coverage of BCG, an immunization that protects against tuberculosis, especially in more serious forms. Nationally, the vaccine recorded coverage of 72%. In Paraná, this rate was 89%.

Another example of success is the pentavalent vaccine, a pediatric vaccine administered at two, four and six months of age, which protects against diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, hepatitis B and infections caused by Haemophilus. Coverage was 84.8% in 2022 and 88.8% in 2023.

Last year’s data also shows the following vaccination coverage: Hepatitis B at 89%, Yellow Fever at 81%, Polio at 89% and Rotavirus at 90%. Regarding the HPV vaccine, in absolute numbers of doses applied, the increase between 2022 (318,352) and 2023 (397,774) was 25%.