This article presents the strategies and actions adopted by the Brazilian Ministry of Health to hold back COVID-19. The response to the disease was immediate and occurred prior to the first case being detected in Brazil. Provision of information and communication to the population and the press was adopted as a fundamental strategy for addressing the epidemic. Guidance provided to the population has been clear, stressing the importance of coronavirus transmission prevention measures. Efforts have been directed towards strengthening health surveillance and health care, as well as boosting research, development and innovation. Actions have targeted human resource training and expanding coverage afforded by the Brazilian National Health System (SUS). Protecting health workers is a priority. All SUS health workers, managers and directors are dedicated to preserving the health and life of each and every Brazilian citizen.

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Infodemic: excess quantity to the detriment of quality of information about COVID-19

T he National Immunization Program (PNI), created in 1973-earlier than the creation of the Brazilian National Health System (SUS) in 1988-, has been a determining factor for successful control of vaccine-preventable diseases in Brazil. The Program's work has contributed above all to important improvements in the health situation of the Brazilian population. Examples include: eradication of smallpox; elimination of poliomyelitis and urban yellow fever, elimination of the circulation of the measles virus (2016) and the rubella virus (2015); as well as reduction in the incidence of diphtheria, whooping cough, meningitis caused by type B H. influenzae , tetanus, tuberculosis in the under fifteen year-olds and, more recently, meningitis and pneumonia. 1 Reduction in vaccinepreventable disease incidence and mortality, especially in the first years of life, has had notable repercussions on increased life expectancy and reduced hospitalizations. 2-4 The list of vaccines offered by the SUS has increased over time. Nineteen vaccines are currently provided against more than twenty diseases. The National Vaccination Schedule, in the same way as in developed countries, covers not only children, but also adolescents, adults, seniors, pregnant women and indigenous peoples. 5 PNI's success and its growing complexity have, however, become an obstacle for maintaining adequate vaccination coverage. While people are no longer living alongside death and disabilities caused by vaccine-preventable diseases, they have become oblivious to the risk these diseases represent to their own health and to that of their family members and the community. 6 Within this scenario, fear of adverse events and spreading of fake news about immunobiologics emerge and outweigh knowledge about the importance and benefits of vaccination. Anti-vaccination movements, 7 although they are not very active in Brazil, are increasingly frequent and persuasive, and spread scientifically unfounded information about the risks of vaccination. In addition, operational factors such as restricted health center opening hours and under-recording of vaccine dose administration on the National Immunization Program Information System (SI-PNI), hinder both access to immunobiologics and monitoring of vaccination targets. The intense migratory movement seen in a country bordering Brazil, with an initial influx in the Brazilian state of Roraima, has contributed to the propagation of the measles virus, which is now circulating once more in Brazil, especially in the states located in the country's Northern region. More than 10,000 cases of the disease were confirmed in 2018, 8 and 646 cases distributed over eight states had been conformed as at July 2019. This demonstrates that additional efforts need to be mobilized in order to maintain adequate vaccination coverage. 9 In order to reverse the decline in vaccination coverage in Brazil, on April 9 th 2019 the Ministry of Health launched the Vacina Brasil Movement, during the XXII March to Brasília in Defense of the Municipalities, as...

ResumoO estudo descreve as tendências do risco de morte por acidentes de transporte terrestre (ATT) e homicídios (HO) em homens de 20 a 49 anos de idade nas capitais das Regiões Norte e Centro-Oeste do Brasil, entre 1980 e 2005. Foi conduzido um estudo ecológico descritivo de análise das séries temporais das médias móveis trianuais dos riscos de morte por ATT e HO, com uso de regressão linear. O risco de HO nas capitais estudadas passou de 49,8 para 91,6 por 100 mil homens (p≤0,001) no período de 1980de -1982de a 2003de -2005, capital do Estado de Mato Grosso, e Macapá (β=5,3), capital do Estado do Amapá. Em relação à mortalidade por ATT, após ajuste da tendência anual média, comparando os períodos pré e pós-implantação do Código de Trânsito Brasileiro (CTB, 1998), observa-se redução média em -10,9 óbitos por 100 mil homens, merecendo destaque Brasília-DF (β=-33,9) e Goiânia (β=-24,8), capital do Estado de Goiás. Esses resultados podem direcionar estudos e intervenções futuras.Palavras-chave: homicídio; acidentes de trânsito; coeficiente de mortalidade. and Summary This ecological analysis provides trends of mortality of men aged 20-49 years, by homicide (HO) and road traffic accident (RTA) in 11 capital cities in the Northern and West Central Regions of