Organizations launch campaign promoting vaccination during pandemic

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Non-Covid 19 treatments have taken a hit since the pandemic made its unwelcome advance across the globe. With this in mind, the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef), in partnership with the Brazilian Immunization Association and the Brazilian Pediatric Association, will launch a new campaign on June 13 to encourage Brazilians to keep vaccination up to date, even during the pandemic.

The campaign includes actions and digital messaging, such as a handbook for healthcare workers to deal with vaccines during the pandemic and strategies for communicating the importance of immunization to the population

According to Unicef, more than 117 million children may no longer receive the measles vaccine due to the crisis. Vaccination campaigns have already been postponed in at least 24 countries. In Brazil, 19 states have reported that measles is circulating.

The leading campaign to eliminate yellow fever is in Parana, where 50 municipalities have recorded cases. There are also recorded cases in São Paulo, Santa Catarina, and Paraná.

The head of HIV/Aids health of Unicef in Brazil, Cristina Albuquerque, said that fears of going to vaccination clinics during the pandemic are understandable, but people should remember that the diseases that inoculations protect against are dangerous and can result in death.

“The Covid-19 pandemic presents an unprecedented situation for our generation, but other diseases continue to circulate. Bacterial meningitis, for example, can result in death in only a few hours. We cannot allow this to be neglected” she warned.

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