Poliomyelitis Vaccination Campaigns in Brazil Resulting in the Eradication of the Disease (1961-1994)

Abstract

This article intends to investigate the historical process with regard to control policy and polio eradication in Brazil. The vaccination campaigns will be analyzed from the advent of the Salk and Sabin vaccines, especially the strategy of the National Vaccination Days, which constituted a model that was replicated in other parts of Latin America, achieving polio eradication in the Americas. Another objective is to demonstrate that not only the technologies, but the negotiation and political will were needed to achieve the control and eradication of the disease in the country.