Meningitis outbreak makes agent take vaccine from door to door in SP

Maria Eduarda Fernandes Carvalho, 11, usually cries when receiving vaccines, but that was not what happened this Thursday afternoon (6). A resident of Vila Rica, an area on the perimeter of the meningitis outbreak registered in the east of São Paulo, she smiled and asked questions to the health workers who came to her house to offer a dose of ACWY, an immunizer that protects against four serotypes of the disease.

The student was one of the vaccinated residents in the active search action carried out by employees of UBS Jardim Iva to immunize the population in the Vila Formosa and Aricanduva region, where five cases of meningitis C were recorded from July 16 to September 15. The confirmed patients were a two-month-old baby and four adults aged 20, 21, 42 and 61. The 42-year-old patient died on August 2.

The search for those who have not been vaccinated occurs from property to property and encompasses both residences and commercial establishments. When not all residents and employees are there, municipal agents leave a notice addressed to absentees with the opening hours of the nearest vaccination posts. If the person has not gone to the UBS to be vaccinated until the next visit by the team to the address, he can receive the immunizer at home or at work.

For teenagers, a dose of ACWY vaccine is offered and, for other age groups, a dose of meningococcal C vaccine. “As soon as the outbreak was announced, a team from UBS went to the school where I work to vaccinate the children and the team , so I took it. Duda just turned 11 and we were waiting for her to be able to take ACWY”, said early childhood teacher Mércia Fernandes Pereira, 38.

Professor of physics and mathematics, João Marcos Hernandez, 35, also insisted on getting vaccinated. “There are 300 children in school and I’m worried about not being vaccinated,” he said. Children under two years of age and adolescents are the populations most at risk of becoming ill with meningococcal meningitis, although other groups may also be affected. This week, a 22-year-old man from the North Zone died of the disease. In all, this year, there were ten deaths from meningitis in the city.

Luan Santos, 25, and Stefano Cunha de Oliveira, 26, live in Mauá, a municipality in Greater São Paulo, but they also received the vaccine because they work in the area of ​​the outbreak. The two had communicated with the times of the vaccination posts, but they had no forecast of when they could go to the health units. “In the rush, health is left aside. You have to take advantage of them [as agentes] are here,” Oliveira said.

An attendant at a bakery near UBS Jardim Iva, Ana Eliza Ferreira, 22, said that she has not yet been able to get vaccinated, however she would like to take the immunizer as soon as possible. “I’m afraid. My brother, who is now 28 years old, got it when he was 4 years old and got sequelae. He only recovered after a lot of treatment”, she reported.

Anyone aged between 3 months and 64 years old who lives, works or studies within 3 km of the reporting region of these cases can receive the vaccine at the local basic health units —UBS Formosa II, UBS Vila Guarani, UBS Jardim Iva and UBS Comendador José Gonzalez (all streets that are blocked can be consulted on the city hall website). All you need to do is present proof of address.

In addition, as part of the routine vaccination schedule, the immunizing agent against meningococcal meningitis C is offered by the SUS throughout Brazil for babies aged 3 to 12 months. The ACWY vaccine is currently applied to the age group from 11 to 14 years of age.

For those who do not fit into these ranges, the ACWY vaccine, which offers protection against serotype C, the same as the outbreak, is available in private clinics for values ​​ranging from R$370 to R$420.