Desinformação e avanço da poliomielite no Brasil (2000 –2021)

Resumo (EN)

Although polio was eradicated in Brazil in 1989, it is at risk of being reintroduced into the country. We sought to understand this phenomenon by answering the following questions: Is there a relationship between the spread of misinformation and the decline in polio vaccination coverage in Brazil between 2000 and 2021? Did political agents (both internal and external) participate in the dissemination of false information? Through statistical procedures, we confirmed that: a) misinformation practices promoted by political agents both inside and outside the country demonstrate global strategies for disseminating false information; and b) there is a strong correlation between these actions and the decline in polio vaccination coverage, such that the more intense the misinformation campaigns, the lower the vaccination coverage.