Cobertura vacinal em menores de dois anos : um olhar a partir da estratégia saúde da família

Abstract

Over the years, the National Immunization Program has become an important strategy for disease prevention and health promotion in Primary Health Care, with positive impacts on reducing child morbidity and mortality. The Covid-19 pandemic has brought about changes in habits and routines that have had a negative impact on vaccination rates in children under two. This study aimed to understand the Family Health team's perception of the challenges in vaccination coverage in children under two years of age during the Covid-19 pandemic. This is an exploratory, descriptive study with a qualitative approach, carried out in three Basic Family Health Units in the municipality of Goiana, Pernambuco. Twelve professionals working in the Family Health Strategy participated in the study: doctors, nurses, community health workers and nursing technicians, who worked during the Covid-19 pandemic, especially in the periods between 2020 and 2021. The data was collected from June to July 2022, using an interview script, and its content was analyzed using the Thematic Content Analysis technique proposed by Bardin. The results were presented in two broad categories and divided into subcategories based on the relevant literature. The first category, called "Challenges to maintaining vaccination coverage in children", showed that the Covid-19 pandemic has caused a wave of fear in the population due to the spread of the virus, which has led to the discontinuation of preventive services offered by Primary Health Care, causing a significant drop in vaccination coverage. Weaknesses were also observed in relation to the physical structure of the units, insufficient human resources and a decrease in supplies, which had a negative impact on the provision of care and the availability of vaccines for children under two. The second category was called "Strategies adopted to deal with the absence of guardians in the vaccination sector", which shows that, to deal with these challenges, the teams had to reorganize themselves, using social communication strategies, using digital media such as WhatsApp; readjusting the physical space to better accommodate guardians and children, preventing the spread of the virus; active search for children with overdue vaccines.The results provoked reflections on the importance and intensification of the work of professionals, especially Community Health Agents, in identifying and summoning children's guardians to keep their vaccinations up to date. We understand that childhood vaccination is an extremely effective and inexpensive strategy for controlling epidemics of vaccine-preventable diseases. Even during a pandemic, vaccination coverage in children under two is essential as a strategy that prevents diseases, strengthens and implements care.