Zé Gotinha ‘hunts’ children, and superheroes unite for childhood vaccination against Covid

In Penha, north of Rio de Janeiro, Zé Gotinha took to the streets to “hunt” children and convince their parents that they needed to be immunized. In Contagem, Minas Gerais, Hulk welcomed the little ones, who received a “certificate of courage”. In the Bahian capital, the allies were the Black Panther and Superman. In Recife, the reception was with popcorn and an inflatable toy.

Superheroes joined Zé Gotinha, a symbol of vaccination in the country, as a strategy for city halls to increase children’s vaccination coverage against Covid, which is still low. Already in the work of convincing parents, experts point out that false news against the vaccine has been an obstacle in the campaign.

On the social networks of the City Hall of Rio de Janeiro, Zé Gotinha gained special powers, superhero clothes and even new names, such as Zézim de Ferro, Lady Vacina and Batdose.

In the capital of Rio de Janeiro, 52% of the 560,000 young people aged between 5 and 11 took their first dose.

Daniel Soranz, the city’s health secretary, even said on social media that “child immunization against Covid is the lowest in the history of vaccination campaigns in Rio”.

For Wallace Souza Matos, 43, the presence of Zé Gotinha was a way to make his son more comfortable. Sitting in a blue chair, William, 5, echoes his father’s opinion. “I’m a little nervous, but I think Zé Gotinha is very cool, because he does good for people”, he says, while waiting to be immunized at a health post in Penha, Rio.

After receiving the first dose, he received a “certificate of courage”, another measure that the city took to encourage childhood vaccination.

According to Juarez Cunha, president of SBIm (Brazilian Society of Immunizations), recreational activities are an effective strategy to increase vaccination coverage.

“Vaccination ends up becoming a moment of celebration and relaxation. So, the child is encouraged to get vaccinated to show that he is brave and that he is part of the superhero group”, he says, who added that it is also important to bet on other measures, such as active search.

“This is a very important mapping strategy that we encourage to be used to search not only for children, but for all other age groups.”

As many parents did not go to vaccinate their children, community agents have bet on this strategy.

They take to the streets to make parents aware of the importance of vaccination. That’s what agent Sônia Fernandes de Souza, 53, did this Friday morning (11), when she walked through the streets of Penha dressed as Zé Gotinha.

“The image of Zé Gotinha makes it much easier, because it is already something cultural. And the children like to play with us”, says the agent.

The president of SBIm says that the spread of fake news has fueled parental distrust. “We just need to encourage trust for them to feel calm. The immunizers are safe and effective and will protect in particular against serious forms.”

In Minas Gerais, the Hulk, Wonder Woman and Captain America took action at health clinics and schools and sheds for childhood vaccinations.

“I’m going to be super good and strong,” says Isac Tavares Santos Simões, 6, in Contagem. He received the “certificate of courage”. “We always have to protect and protect our children”, says the boy’s mother, Natália Tavares Santos.

Communications for parents to take their children for vaccination are made through official social networks and sound cars.

Zé Gotinha was chosen by the Municipality of Belo Horizonte to encourage the vaccination of children. The character travels through vaccination points in the city talking to parents and playing with the little ones.

Until last Saturday (5), 51% of a total of 136 thousand children, with or without comorbidities, already summoned for vaccination were immunized.

The “certificate of courage” is also provided in Belém. So far, 52,664 children aged 5 to 11 have already been immunized in the capital of Pará, which corresponds to 37.2% of residents in this age group.

In the same vein, in Curitiba, children receive a “document” that they passed the needle with honor. The city hall gives the “certificate of vaccinated curitibinha”.

Curitibinha is also present, which travels around the city to encourage parents to vaccinate their children. According to the city hall, until last Wednesday (9), 46% of children in Curitiba had received their first dose.

In Recife, with only 21.93% (34,985) children aged 5 to 11 years vaccinated, the city government created the Parquinho da Vacina project as a strategy to expand coverage of child protection.

The itinerant action has an inflatable toy, soccer game, popcorn and other attractions for children, in different neighborhoods of the city, without the need for scheduling, from 8 am to 4 pm.

According to the Health Secretary of Recife, Luciana Albuquerque, childhood vaccination in the city began on January 15, however, given the low demand, it was necessary to adopt a strategy of attraction not only for children, but also for parents.

Starting next week, the municipality plans to take vaccination to teaching units to provide greater convenience to families. The manager also says that the city has made appeals on social networks to convince parents about the importance of immunization.

“It is a vaccine that has been very controversial, as we realize that there are parents who vaccinate themselves, but do not take their children,” he observed. “The adverse effects are very mild, as with any other vaccination.”

In Fortaleza, magic shows, clown performances, musical performances, in addition to the “certificate of courage”, are among the more than 300 artistic attractions taken by the city to vaccination sites, both for adults and children.

In Salvador, in some Family Health Units, such as in the Cajazeiras neighborhood, health professionals dress up as Giant Robot, Black Panther and Superman. In the Curralinho region, Spider-Man works in partnership with Superman to save children from the coronavirus.

In Goiás, the appeal was to funk in Luiziânia.

“Dad, you drink Skol, Lokal, Bavaria and Polar, and now you’re afraid to vaccinate me”, says an excerpt from the song, which was published on the city’s social networks. In another passage, towards the end, the interpreter still leaves a “threat” to the parents: “take me to the health center otherwise I’ll call the [conselho] tutelary”.

Campinas also used a certificate and medals for the brave children who were immunized. Some employees wore children’s-themed clothing. Until last Wednesday (9), about 34,000 children had already been immunized in the city, which represents 30% of the target audience.

In neighboring Sumaré there were, in addition to Zé Gotinha, the presence of superheroes and Galinha Pintadinha – a character that became a symbol of the childhood immunization campaign of the João Doria government (PSDB).

In Porto Alegre, the city government created the “Health League” with five characters inspired by priority groups, in addition to the cat Rapadura and the dog Chimarrão.

The class, which appears in campaigns on social networks and teaching materials available on the city hall website, has superpowers that are reinforced after the dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. Anyone who faces the injection can receive their own League membership certificate.

In Florianópolis, in addition to finding characters such as Batman and Princess Elza (from the cartoon “Frozen”), vaccinated children received a native tree seedling after receiving the first dose — ipês, jabuticabeiras and pitangueiras are some of the species delivered to the posts by the city hall. .

In the capital of Santa Catarina, the vaccinated rate is 44.6%. Altogether, it is estimated that the audience of children aged 5 to 11 will reach 38,358 people.