Dengue vaccines that are close to due dates may be applied to people with ages outside the age group stipulated for the Unified Health System (SUS) and may be relocated to municipalities not yet contemplated by vaccination.
The recommendation is in a technical note for all states and the Federal District published on Friday (14). The objective, according to the folder, is to ensure that all acquired immunizers reach the population, expanding protection against the disease.
Now doses with a period of 2 months of validity may be relocated to municipalities not yet contemplated by dengue vaccination or applied in an expanded age group, including people from 6 years to 16 years old.
For vaccines that complete 1 month of validity, the strategy can be expanded to the age limit specified in the vaccine leaflet, covering the age group from 4 years to 59 years, 11 months and 29 days of age.
The immunizer, under the SUS, was initially focused only on those aged 10 and 14 years.
According to the Ministry, the expansion of the target audience should consider the availability of doses and the epidemiological situation of each state and municipality. In addition, the folder must be properly informed by the federative units on the implementation of the temporary strategy to expand vaccination.
All doses administered must be recorded in the National Health Data Network (RNDS) to ensure the second dose and complete monitoring of the immunization process.
Active search
To complete the vaccination scheme, you need to take two doses of the vaccine, which ensures the immunization offered by the vaccine.
According to the Ministry of Health, in 2024, 6.5 million doses were sent to states and municipalities, but only 3.8 million were applied. The situation is even more worrying among teenagers. Approximately 1.3 million young people who started the vaccination scheme did not return to the second dose.
The ministry recommends that states and municipalities intensify active search strategies, identifying and mobilizing those who have not yet completed the vaccination scheme.
Vaccine
Brazil was the first country in the world to offer the immunizer in the universal public system. Vaccination in the country began in February 2024 in 315 municipalities and, since then, has been expanded, currently reaching 1,921 municipalities, according to the Ministry of Health.
In 2024, the dengue vaccine was incorporated into the SUS for the 10 -year -old public who resides in priority locations, according to criteria defined from the epidemiological scenario of the disease in the country and a decision agreed with states and municipalities in the intergenerating committee Tripartite (cit).
