After decades, polio once again becomes a threat to Brazil

Brazil’s Health Ministry last week organized a “D-Day” for its newest polio vaccination campaign. The objective is to vaccinate 95 percent of children aged 1 to 5 by September 9 — but reaching that goal is very unlikely. 

Vaccination rates — and not only for polio — have been declining for years, and some experts understand disinformation is at least partially to blame.

Government data shows that 2015 was the last year in which Brazil reached its 95 percent polio vaccination coverage goal. In 2021, the coverage dipped below 70 percent for the first time.

Brazil has not registered polio cases since 1989, and in 1994 the Americas became the first region in the world to receive certification from the World Health Organization (WHO) as free of the disease. However, the disease resurfaced this year in several countries, such as Malawi, Israel,...