Brazil goes against the grain of the world and the intention to vaccinate against Covid in the country falls, says research

Contrary to the world trend, Brazil showed a drop in acceptance of vaccination against Covid in the last year.

Worldwide, the desire to get vaccinated against Covid rose 5.2%, from 75.2% in 2021 to 79.1% in 2022, according to a survey of 23 countries conducted by the Global Institute of Health of Barcelona (ISGlobal).

In Brazil, the number of respondents who said they agreed with vaccination fell by 3.3% compared to 2021, from 90.5% to 87.2% in 2022. Despite this, Brazil maintains a high vaccination coverage with two doses (more than 81% until the last day 6).

In addition to Brazil, the other countries that had a drop in acceptance of the vaccine against Covid were the United Kingdom (-1%), China (-1%), Turkey (-2.7%), Kenya (-8.5%) , Mexico (-9.4%), Ghana (-13.8%) and South Africa (-21.1%).

The research entitled “A survey of vaccine acceptance of Covid-19 in 23 countries in 2022” was published this Monday (9) in the specialized journal Nature Medicine. In addition to ISGlobal, the study has the participation of scientists from the London School of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, the City University of NY (Cuny) and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington, among others. .

Data were collected from June 29 to July 10, 2022. One thousand citizens were interviewed in each of the 23 countries, aged 18 years or older, totaling 23 thousand participants. Of the total, 50.3% were women and 45.6% reported having an average monthly income above the country’s per capita income.

Countries were selected according to the global burden of Covid morbidity and mortality in the first year of the pandemic. Surveys were also carried out to assess vaccine acceptance in 2020 and 2021.

The research also evaluated the acceptance of the vaccine among those who are responsible for children and adolescents under 18 years old, including those who received at least one dose.

Brazil had a high rate of parents who are afraid to vaccinate their children, with a 56.3% increase in hesitation from 2021 to 2022 (from 8.7% to 13.6%). When considering those who received at least one dose, however, 5.4% reported hesitation to vaccinate their children.

Regarding booster doses, the study found lower hesitation rates in low- and middle-income countries compared to higher-income countries. In Brazil, only 3.6% of respondents said they hesitate to receive Covid boosters, thus occupying the third position among those who most believe in vaccine boosters. Russia (28.9%), France (26.1%), South Africa (18.9%) and Canada (17.6%) have the highest rates of hesitation.

Brazil still has about 100 million people who have not sought one or more Covid reinforcements, according to a note released by the Ministry of Health last week.

According to information from the RNDS (National Health Data Network) released by the folder, 69 million Brazilians are still with the third dose (or first booster) of the vaccine overdue and another 30 million who could already receive the fourth dose ( or second reinforcement) did not.

According to the ISGlobal study, 12.1% of participants who said they were vaccinated showed hesitation regarding additional doses. The data reveal an initial positive intention regarding vaccination against Covid, especially in 2020 and 2021, but a drop in global confidence in immunizers given the need for new boosters and the emergence of new variants. The findings corroborate other studies that pointed to lower levels of education and income as factors linked to vaccine hesitancy.

Another worrying data from the survey is that, despite being contraindicated by the WHO (World Health Organization) and other health entities for the treatment of Covid, 27% of the participants who said they had been infected in the last year reported using ivermectin at the first sign. of the symptoms. In Brazil, the data is even more alarming: 79.5% of those who said they had taken medication to treat Covid used ivermectin.

With the increase in cases in recent weeks in places like China, the United States and Europe, researchers warn of the importance of seeking reliable information about Covid. According to the survey, nearly two-thirds (38.6%) of respondents said they paid less attention to coronavirus-related news than in the previous year.

The survey researchers published, in November, a letter listing the main medical consensus for Covid and how they can help in decision-making.

According to Jeffrey Lazarus, coordinator of the ISGlobal survey, it is necessary to understand the effects locally to combat vaccine hesitancy in each country.

“There is a perception that the pandemic is over because Covid is not as deadly as it once was, in part because people are vaccinated. This is a huge mistake as it ignores the post-Covid reality that affects millions around the world,” stated.

Still according to the researcher, there is a link between the speeches of the authorities and the population’s initiative to get vaccinated.

“This happened in part of the population, with the contrary speeches of former president Donald Trump, in the USA, and Bolsonaro, in Brazil. With the return of Lula [à presidência]I hope that vaccination uptake will increase and that it will also become more accessible, reaching out to marginalized populations that were not sought after by the previous administration.”