Brazil Expands Polio Vaccine Schedule as Childhood Immunization Rates Surge

A joint WHO‑UNICEF report shows that Brazil cut the number of children who missed the first dose of the pentavalent vaccine from about 360,000 in 2023 to roughly 50,000 by 2025 – a reduction of around 86‑90 %. The decline removes Brazil from the list of the 20 countries with the highest zero‑dose counts and marks one of the world’s strongest recoveries in child‑vaccination coverage.

From 3 August, Brazil’s Ministry of Health will add a second polio booster for four‑year‑old children, creating a five‑dose schedule (three doses at 2, 4 and 6 months, boosters at 15 months and 4 years). The change aims to reinforce immunity and keep Brazil free of poliovirus, a status it has maintained since 1989 and certified in 1994 across the Americas. Experts note that high antibody levels remain essential while poliomyelitis still circulates in Pakistan and Afghanistan.