Health · Public Health & Disease · 6 hrs ago
Brazil faces challenge keeping people motivated to get vaccinated
Renato Kfouri, a Brazilian vaccination expert, says keeping people motivated to get vaccinated is a major challenge when they no longer feel at risk.
Brazil received a certificate recognizing measles elimination in 2016, but the virus began circulating again in 2018.
The country recorded 21,741 cases in 2019, its peak year in the recent outbreak.
Brazil has recorded 61 measles cases in 2026, and all were acquired abroad; most people affected were not vaccinated.
Measles is highly contagious and can cause severe illness or death, while vaccination is a key way to prevent its spread.
The disease is spreading widely across the Americas, which has seen its highest number of cases in more than two decades, according to the World Health Organization.
The WHO has urged countries to reinforce the importance of vaccination, and Brazil's vaccine is available free through its public health system.
Brazil faces a challenge keeping people motivated to get vaccinated when they no longer feel at risk, measles elimination expert Renato Kfouri said.
Measles returned to circulation in Brazil in 2018 after the country received an elimination certificate in 2016.
The country recorded 21,741 measles cases in 2019, the year with the highest concentration of cases.
In 2026, Brazil had recorded 61 measles cases, all imported, according to the latest report from the Health Ministry.
Kfouri said vaccination is important because measles can cause severe illness and death, and has no specific treatment.
- Who
- Renato Kfouri, president of Brazil’s Technical Chamber for Measles Elimination, said maintaining vaccination motivation is a challenge.
- What
- Brazil faces difficulty encouraging people to get vaccinated when they no longer feel at risk.
- When
- Kfouri discussed the issue on Oct. 17, Brazil’s National Vaccination Day.
- Where
- Brazil.
- Why
- When diseases seem distant, people may delay vaccination, creating conditions for diseases to spread.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Brazil received a certificate recognizing the elimination of measles.
Measles virus circulation returned in Brazil.
Brazil recorded 21,741 measles cases, the highest concentration of cases in the period described.
Brazil had recorded 61 measles cases, all imported, according to the latest Health Ministry report.
- Expert
- Renato Kfouri
- Measles cases in 2019
- 21,741
- Measles cases in Brazil in 2026
- 61
- Imported cases in Brazil in 2026
- All 61 cases
- Measles return in Brazil
- Virus circulation resumed in 2018
What people are saying
Unfortunately, we seek protection when we feel threatened.
When the disease disappears, as measles did, it creates an environment where I delay, I postpone, I’ll get vaccinated when I can.
We need to work on these two aspects, and that is also what we are here for; Immunization Day serves this purpose too.