City Hall expands vaccination against Influenza to 13 more priority groups

Starting this Thursday (4), the Municipal Department of Public Health will expand the number of people eligible to receive the Influenza vaccine. Now, 13 more priority groups can receive doses of the vaccine, in all Basic Health Units – with the exception of Cristal – from 8 am to 6 pm. There is no need to schedule an appointment. Furthermore, the Ana Rosa UBS, which will have its new headquarters opened this Saturday (6), will begin vaccinations from next Monday (8).

The population over 60 years old is joined by the following groups eligible to be vaccinated: truck drivers; children aged 6 months to under 6 years; pregnant and postpartum women; people with permanent disabilities; people with chronic illnesses and special clinical conditions; homeless people; population deprived of liberty and employees of the deprivation of liberty system; Indian people; primary and higher education teachers; armed forces, security and rescue professionals; port workers; health workers; public road transport workers for urban and long-distance passengers.

Mayara Santos, responsible for the Department of Epidemiology, highlighted that the expansion of the population eligible to receive the vaccine is due to the increase in cases of respiratory diseases and exposure to viruses from more exposed groups. “Given this increase in influenza in the municipality, this is a great opportunity to vaccinate these people who are predisposed to presenting a more serious case of the disease. Remembering that even if the population was vaccinated the previous year, they should also be vaccinated this year to prevent against the H1N1, H3N2 and B/Victoria lineage strains. This is the best way to take care of yourself,” she said.

According to the Ministry of Health, the vaccine used is trivalent, that is, it presents three types of virus strains in combination, protecting against the main viruses circulating in Brazil.