The broad scientific consensus is that vaccination is key to keep​ing individuals and societies healthier. That’s why there’s concern in Brazil over a drop in children's vaccination rates - ​outlined in a study released this summer.

Data compiled by the Oswaldo Cruz ​Foundation research institute recorded a decline of more than 13-and-a-half percent in vaccinations among all Brazilians between 2017 and 2019,  a figure driven by the drop in childhood immunizations.  

In part, vaccination is a victim of its own success. Doctors say people are now more careless because there’s less fear of diseases that killed or disabled many in the past but are out of sight because vaccination brought them under control. ​On top of that, a growing anti-vaccination movement is blamed with spreading misinformation about vaccine safety. 

"At a time when people don’t see so much the impacts of the diseases anymore, the fake news against vaccination end up having more impact on people. And on top of that there’s another issue: the number of vaccines increased a lot over the last years, which is good," said Dr. Renato Kfouri, director of the Brazilian Immunization Society.

"But now parents need to take their infants almost once a month to get their shots. And then sometimes when they go to the clinic there’s a shortage of vaccine and they need to return another day." 

The figures showing a drop in children’s vaccination rates in Brazil refer to 2019 - well before the beginning of social distancing and quarantine measures in the country. 

The coordinator of immunization for the city of São Paulo says the pandemic is only compounding the problem.   

"In 2019 we had an outbreak of measles in São Paulo because of the drop in vaccinations. And in 2020 we see the vaccination rates are dropping even more. Parents are afraid to come to the clinics with their children because of the pandemic," São Paulo’s Health Secretary Immunizations Coordinator Adriana Peris said.

The world’s focus now is on finding an effective vaccine against COVID-1, while an equal challenge may be convincing the majority of citizens to get the shot once it's approved.   

Check out The China Report, our new weekly newsletter. Subscribe here!