Brazil’s indigenous people may have permanent vaccination against Covid-19

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Brazil may launch a permanent vaccination campaign against Covid-19 for indigenous people. The statement was made by the Ministry of Health’s special Secretary of Indigenous Health Robson Santos da Silva.

According to the Secretary, the vaccine distribution and administration system for indigenous populations living in villages is capable of absorbing a future demand for permanent vaccination against Covid-19, as is currently the case with other diseases.

“Brazil has a highly sophisticated vaccination system. There has been no disruption in that. There have been improvements. A crisis like this offers opportunities for improvement,” he said.

According to the Secretary, the pandemic was an opportunity to expand health subsystems in remote areas. Among the improvements are the storage and distribution logistics of vaccines that need to be cooled and kept in special chambers.

“We conducted an active search. We are always adapting. If it [Covid-19] will be like influenza, vaccination will continue. Influenza vaccination occurs every year, it is ongoing. If this will be necessary for the novel coronavirus, we will follow the same steps,” said Robson Santos Silva, adding that the success of immunization was possible due to the support of indigenous leaderships and the Armed Forces.

Regarding health coverage for other diseases, Silva said that there are constant reformulations and adaptations to the growing population of indigenous Brazilians.

According to Ministry of Health data, the indigenous population has grown from 650,000 to around 755,000 individuals in the past five years.

Indexes such as the life expectancy of indigenous people have also increased, he stated. As a result, diseases uncommon in the past have now become more common in the communities.

“The indigenous population is increasing and aging. There are diseases that were uncommon, such as diabetes and heart problems. When we have these medium and high complexity situations, we need state and federal help. We are reinventing ourselves to better serve this population,” he added.

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