The Minister of Health, Alexandre Padilha, declared that vaccination coverage of the 16 mandatory immunizations on the calendar has increased since 2023, but denialism and the dissemination of false information on the subject are still challenges to be faced. The statements were given during participation in the Good Morning, Minister Program, from CanalGov, this Monday morning (15).
“If there is one thing that most affects the daily lives of healthcare professionals, the lives of Brazilian families in the healthcare sector, it is denialism. They are people spreading lies and, unfortunately, even making money from it”, he highlights.
According to Padilha, the Ministry of Health and the Federal Attorney General’s Office work together in legal actions against the dissemination of false news in cases that even involve doctors and the sale of anti-vaccination courses. “We are winning this battle, but it is not won yet”, says the minister.
Last Saturday (13), the State of São Paulo recorded the second measles case of the year in an unvaccinated man who had traveled outside the country. Just like the cases in São Paulo, all 36 other records of the disease in the country this year originated in other countries.
With no internal circulation of the virus, Brazil maintains its certificate as a country free from the disease, showing that it leaves behind the situation that led to the loss of certification in 2019, when there were too many 21,700 cases of infected people recorded.
According to Padilha, the year 2025 will close with greater vaccination coverage than in 2024, when the Ministry of Health recorded a 180% growth in the number of municipalities above the target of 95% immunization in the essential calendar.
Dengue
Padilha also stated that the immunization of health professionals with the dengue vaccine, developed by the Butantan Institute and which was registered by the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) on the 8th, should begin by the end of January 2026.
“We start at the end of January and continue throughout February and March. This is important, because when the most critical period of dengue arrives you already have these professionals who are more protected”, he says.
In the same period, the cities of Botucatu (SP) and Maranguape (CE) will undergo an acceleration action for vaccination against dengue, to begin an immunization plan that will be implemented in the country, when production is scaled up to serve the entire population. Some scholars point out that if we reach 40% vaccination of a population in a city, it is possible to have dengue control in that city.
