The information and immunization work developed by the Mauá Health Department is being carried out in 66 municipal and state schools and in the community, for students aged nine to 19 years, 11 months and 29 days who have not been immunized against the Human Papillomavirus or simply HPV . The purpose is to rescue unvaccinated teenagers so that they can receive a single dose of the HPV vaccine. HPV is a virus, as the name suggests, that infects the skin or mucous membranes (oral, genital or anal) and causes warts and cancer, depending on the type of virus, and is sexually transmitted. It is one of the main causes of cervical cancer.
To this end, representatives from the Municipal Department of Education and the Regional Education Directorate develop joint work with the Immunization Division team, which provides technical and statistical information, in addition to guidelines passed on by the State Health Surveillance and Ministry of Health. previous conversation with school directors and coordinators and then the students talk to City Hall technicians about this vaccination and other issues involving public health.
Today, researchers already know that a single dose of vaccine is sufficient for immunization and systematically recommend it for adolescents aged nine to 14. In 2014, when the first vaccination campaign was carried out, it was recommended only for girls aged 11 to 13 and in two doses. In 2024, the Ministry of Health began recommending the vaccine for immunocompromised people and victims of sexual violence.
In 2015, girls aged 9 to 13 and women up to 26 years old living with HIV also began receiving the HPV/AIDS vaccine. The year 2016 added girls aged 9 to 14 and boys aged 11 to 14 and men up to 26 years old, living with HIV/AIDS – in addition to women with the same criteria – to the human papillomavirus vaccination process. In 2018, the groups were expanded with the addition of solid organ and bone marrow transplant recipients and cancer patients. 2019 brought the novelty of expanding the age range to 45 years old, under the same previous conditions. Victims of sexual violence aged between nine and 45 will receive the immunization dose from 2023.
In Mauá, vaccination coverage since 2014, the time of the first campaign, showed a good margin of immunized people aged between 18 and 19 years old and a low percentage between nine and 17 years old. Low adherence was attributed to rumors and systematic misinformation that promoted fear against the vaccine, disregarding the years of efficiency and recognition of the Brazilian immunization program. Currently, it is observed that new campaigns in favor of vaccination have had a positive impact on vaccination coverage. An example is the fact that, previously, coverage between the ages of nine and 19 did not reach 50%. Now, this number is 67%, with an expectation of increase.
Considering the evolution of age and coverage over the 10-year period, we arrive at the data that, today, those young people immunized since 2014 against HPV correspond to 5,699 people aged 18, that is, 98% of a total of 5,782 individuals. Only 113 young people were not immunized in this group. The parameters are based on the Censuses of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). This significant reach is credited to the adherence of people who understand the vaccine as an important health protection instrument.
Source: Press Office of the Municipality of Mau
Social Communication Secretariat
05/06/2024 15:28
