10 Brazilian states will not offer the dengue vaccine on the public network. In these states, the alternative will be to seek the vaccine from the private network, but the price makes access difficult, especially for low-income people.
Two dengue vaccines are currently sold in clinics and pharmacies in the country. One is only for those who have already had the disease. The other, Qdenga, has no restrictions and can be applied to people aged 4 to 60. The vaccine works with two doses and is the same one that will be made available by SUS.
The Ministry of Health announced that it will immunize 3.1 million Brazilians, in municipalities in 16 states and the Federal District. Another 10 units of the federation, such as Rio Grande do Sul, were not selected — because they do not meet the established criteria: municipalities with more than 100 thousand inhabitants, high transmission of the disease and greater prevalence of type two dengue fever.
SUS doses will only be applied to children and adolescents, between 10 and 14 years old. In Rio Grande do Sul, the “elderly” represent the majority of serious cases.
The director of the State Health Surveillance Center in Rio Grande do Sul also warns that, whatever the state, the vaccine does not replace prevention measures, such as avoiding standing water at home and collecting trash from the yard.
“The important thing is that people don’t put all their money into just the vaccine. If we fight the vector, we won’t have the disease”, says Marcelo Vallandro.
See the states without dengue vaccination:
- Alagoas
- Amapá
- Ceará
- Mato Grosso
- For
- Pernambuco
- Piauí
- Rio Grande do Sul
- Rondônia
- Sergipe