Brazil COVID-19: 25 confirmed cases, Elderly and health workers 1st to get flu vaccine

By NewsDesk @infectiousdiseasenews

The Brazil Ministry of Health reports they have started to test for coronavirus all patients who are admitted to health units (health posts, UPA, hospitals) with mild or severe flu – who are hospitalized – regardless of the travel history of people abroad. The measure applies to samples with negative results for other flu viruses in cities with confirmed cases of the disease.

This expands the identification of coronavirus cases and reinforces the monitoring of circulation in the country. Thus, the Ministry of Health adopts the third definition of the World Health Organization (WHO) of suspected case of coronavirus.

The WHO definition for testing hospitalized patients with severe cases has the objective of identifying possible community transmission, which occurs when it is not possible to trace the source of the infection. “It may be that we can identify the community transmission of the virus in Brazil, as Canada has already done. Therefore, we have increased the sensitivity of surveillance in the search for a supposed community transmission of the coronavirus, which will allow us to organize our system better and faster. operational “, said the executive secretary of the Ministry of Health, João Gabbardo.

The tests for coronavirus will be performed on people who have not traveled abroad or had contact in Brazil with confirmed cases. In this situation, patients hospitalized in cities with already confirmed cases of coronavirus and who have a severe condition, ie Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), will be investigated.

As of Monday, there are 25 confirmed cases of the disease, 4 by local transmission and 21 imported cases in Brazil.

Currently, 930 suspected cases are monitored and another 685 have already been discarded.

Of the 25 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the country, 16 are in São Paulo, 3 in Rio de Janeiro, 2 in Bahia, 01 in Alagoas, 01 in Espírito Santo, 01 in Minas Gerais and 01 in the Federal District.

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In addition, The Ministry of Health reversed the order of the target audience of the National Influenza Vaccination Campaign. First, the elderly and health workers, who work at the forefront of service to the population, will be vaccinated. The decision of the portfolio is yet another measure of protection for these audiences, especially for the elderly, since the vaccine is a protection for the most common respiratory diseases, which depending on the severity can lead to death. Another concern is to prevent people over 60, the public most vulnerable to coronavirus, from having to travel in the expected period of likely circulation of the virus in the country. The first phase of the campaign begins on March 23, throughout Brazil.

The prioritization of the elderly in this first stage, despite the ineffectiveness of the Influenza vaccine against coronavirus, is a way of helping health professionals to discard influences in the screening and speed up the diagnosis for COVID-19. In addition, the folder considers studies and data that point out that more serious cases of coronavirus infection have been recorded in people over 60 years of age.

“We need to protect the most vulnerable and those who are at the forefront of care. It is important to ensure that these people have access to information to avoid queues at health posts. Our challenge is to carry out the campaign safely and avoid agglomerations. The National Immunization Program of Brazil (PNI) is prepared ”, explained the Secretary for Surveillance and Health of the Ministry of Health, Wanderson de Oliveira.