tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
RIO DE JANEIRO, May 21 (Xinhua) -- Brazil's Health Ministry announced on Friday its decision to prolong the national campaign of vaccination against the A/H1N1 flu until June 2.
The campaign, which started in early March, was due to end this Friday.
The ministry also decided to extend the vaccination to children aged two to five years old. Initially, the campaign targeted only children aged six months to two years old, adults aged 20 to 39, elders, pregnant women and people with chronic health conditions such as diabetes or heart diseases.
In order to include the children aged two to five in the campaign, the Brazilian government will need 10.8 million extra doses of the flu vaccine. The children will take the vaccine in two turns, with a gap of three weeks between the doses.
Health Minister Jose Gomes Temporao also made a balance of the campaign so far. According to him, since March over 61 million Brazilians have been vaccinated against H1N1 flu.
That represents about 70 percent of the campaign's goal. Among pregnant women, 68 percent were vaccinated, much lower than the 80 percent expected by the Ministry. Among adults aged 20 to 29, 77 percent were vaccinated, and among those aged 30 to 39, only 37 percent were immunized against the H1N1 flu.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/health/2010-05/22/c_13309319.htm
The campaign, which started in early March, was due to end this Friday.
The ministry also decided to extend the vaccination to children aged two to five years old. Initially, the campaign targeted only children aged six months to two years old, adults aged 20 to 39, elders, pregnant women and people with chronic health conditions such as diabetes or heart diseases.
In order to include the children aged two to five in the campaign, the Brazilian government will need 10.8 million extra doses of the flu vaccine. The children will take the vaccine in two turns, with a gap of three weeks between the doses.
Health Minister Jose Gomes Temporao also made a balance of the campaign so far. According to him, since March over 61 million Brazilians have been vaccinated against H1N1 flu.
That represents about 70 percent of the campaign's goal. Among pregnant women, 68 percent were vaccinated, much lower than the 80 percent expected by the Ministry. Among adults aged 20 to 29, 77 percent were vaccinated, and among those aged 30 to 39, only 37 percent were immunized against the H1N1 flu.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/health/2010-05/22/c_13309319.htm