Health Minister Nísia Trindade said on Wednesday (17) that it is still necessary to increase the production of the dengue vaccine to expand the age groups that will receive the immunization. Currently, the ministry has 5 million doses, which would allow the vaccination of 2.5 million people — or 1.1% of the population. The number does not cover all people in the prioritized age group, from 6 to 16 years old, totaling 30.5 million in the country, according to IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics). The Ministry of Health declared on the last Monday (15) that it plans to vaccinate a portion of the group of children and adolescents.
According to Trindade, in addition to age, the municipality where the person lives will also be taken into account. "Vaccination is not yet finalized. It depends on the age group but also on the state or municipality most affected. We will be looking at age group, vaccine availability because about 10 million doses are needed to vaccinate this population," she told Brazilian journalists in Davos.
The minister said she relies on donated doses, without defining the number or deadlines. She also insisted that other measures are needed to contain the disease, which is experiencing an increase in cases in Brazil. "The vaccine is a very important tool, but it is not the only one. We are recommending control strategies. We have already identified that 75% of disease transmission occurs inside or around homes, so vector control is very important," she said, referring to the mosquitoes that transmit the disease, which proliferate in water.