Banca de DEFESA: RIZIA CLAUDIA OLIVEIRA SILVA

EVALUATION OF THE PNI TARGET FOR VACCINE AGAINST COVID-19 IN CHILDREN AGED 5 TO 11 IN BAHIA

children. vaccines. COVID-19.

Brazil's National Immunization Program (PNI) stands out as an efficient public policy, with an important impact on morbidity and mortality with modifications to the vaccination schedule according to the profile of the population, as well as the emergence and severity of new diseases. The COVID-19 pandemic triggered a rapid search for the development of vaccines adopted as a strategy to reduce hospitalizations and deaths. For Vaccination in Brazil, the National Operationalization Plan for COVID 19 was published in order to guide planning and execution of vaccination against the disease. However, there is variation in vaccination coverage (VC) in Brazil and therefore, it is necessary to evaluate vaccination targets in children aged 5 to 11 years, in the State of Bahia, in the year 2022. An exploratory study was carried out to estimate associated actors achieving goals using the strategies in the PNI in the operationalization of the vaccine against COVID 19 in the age group of 05 to 11 years, the relationship between the variable of interest (CV) and the independent variables was analyzed to safely make a prediction of the conditions that can contribute to achieving PNI goals for the COVID 18 vaccine in the State of Bahia. Among the 417 Municipalities in Bahia, it is observed that 2nd dose coverage is low, with only 22.7% (n=94) achieving this coverage. Variations are observed between health regions regarding the concentration of municipalities by Health Regions and Human Development Index (HDI). The demographic analysis of children aged 5 to 11 years found that 58.7% of Municipalities (n=245) have up to 2000 children. Regarding health, the occurrence of hospitalization in the Municipalities due to SARS is 13.4% (n=56), indicating a non-negligible proportion of cases that required hospitalization. To evaluate the factors associated with achieving vaccination targets established by the PNI, multiple linear regression was used to verify whether the variables “General Population”, “% of Children in the Population”, “HDI”, “PHC Coverage” and “SARS Hospitalization by COVID” are able to predict the “% of 2nd dose coverage”. The analysis resulted in a statistically significant model [F (3, 411) = 38.777; p< 0.001; R2 = 0.215]. In the final model we found the variables “% of Children in the Population”, “HDI” and “PHC Coverage” as predictors of “% of 2nd dose Coverage”. The influence of PHC is highlighted in explaining the behavior of vaccination coverage with the greatest impact among the variables. As for the HDI, when evaluated in isolation it did not obtain a significant correlation, however, accompanied by the other variables, it influences the behavior of the CV. The study achieved the objective of identifying factors associated with the percentage of vaccination coverage in children aged 5 to 11 years in the state of Bahia. However, further research is necessary to highlight the other reasons that influence VL against COVID 19 in children, thus overcoming the challenge of achieving homogeneous coverage in the state. The results highlight the diversity and complexity of demographic and health conditions in the sample, highlighting areas of focus for health policies, specific interventions, planning and coordination of actions favoring the implementation of the PNI