Assistance and Delivery of COVID-19 Vaccinations to Patients with Rare Diseases

Data de publicação: 01/10/2023 Data Ahead of Print: 20/10/2023

Autores da FMUP

• Ivone Maria Resende Figueiredo Duarte

  Autor

• Rui Manuel Lopes Nunes

  Autor

Participantes de fora da FMUP

• Moraes, MCD

Unidades de investigação

• Laboratório Associado RISE- Rede de Investigação em Saúde

  

  Investigador

  Fernando Carlos De Landér Schmitt

• Medicina da Comunidade, Informação e Decisão em Saúde

• RISE-Health

  

  Investigador

  Fernando Carlos De Landér Schmitt

Abstract

The COVID-19 vaccination campaign has been fortified by the positive effects of immunization: data from official government organizations and communication channels show that infection rates, hospitalizations, and deaths have continued to fall since its implementation. In Brazil, the effective and free National Vaccination Program has failed to prioritize patients with rare diseases, who have extreme comorbidities, and who adhere to the calendar prepared by the government. The question is why these "rare people" were not considered priorities during the vaccination program. This study aims to understand the reasoning behind this decision and to resume the debate around the rights of patients with rare diseases based on regular descriptors issued by official government agencies and by critics of rare disease issues in scientific articles. The objectives of this study were as follows: to analyze the dispensed care of rare disease patients in the COVID-19 vaccination campaign; to identify the procedures implemented by the National Vaccination Plan for the Brazilian population over 18 years of age and to evaluate the effectiveness of the plan implemented from the perspective of a "rare person".

Keywords

• rare disease; COVID-19; vaccination; public policy