Children’s vaccination grows, and SP reaches flock immunity for polio

Throughout the country, the level of immunization against polio was 89.5%, slightly below the level of herd immunity, according to data from the Ministry of Health. The national numbers also went up compared to two years ago, when the level was about 70% of coverage.

(Increased vaccination) shows that the strategies assembled are adequate and that they already guarantee us, for example, to have a polio herd immunity, but not yet the guarantee of eradication, which is 95% the number proposed by the World Health Organization. We will continue the strategies to achieve all goals.
Eleuses Paiva, State Secretary of Health

What is herd immunity

Herd immunity consists of reaching a point where there is a sufficient number of people immune to the virus to interrupt community transmission. With fewer individuals susceptible to the virus, he gradually ceases to circulate. It is also called group immunity or collective immunity.

This does not mean the end of care. The collective protection that herd immunity would give us is always thought of the use of vaccines, according to experts heard by Vivabem.

Children’s immunization levels in SP grow in 2024

The indices improved in the state for all immunizers of the basic child calendar compared to the year. By 2023, only three vaccines had coverage above 90%. The biggest jump was on BCG, whose coverage went from 79.9% to 90.3% in one year – high from just over ten percentage points.