The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the entire world, and the vaccine has emerged as a source of hope for return to normal life. Still, various countries have reported high vaccine hesitancy rates. It is important to know the vaccine hesitancy profile in Brazil to help design adequate communication strategies. A voluntary, anonymous online survey was conducted from January 22 to 29, 2021, including resident Brazilian adults to assess factors related to vaccine hesitancy. Sociodemographic and epidemiological data were analyzed. A bivariate analysis was conducted with the independent variables, with vaccine hesitancy as the outcome variable, and a multivariate logistic model was used to calculated adjusted odds ratios. The sample included 173,178 respondents, and vaccine hesitancy was found in 10.5%. The principal factors associated with vaccine hesitancy were the following: assigning importance to the vaccinés efficacy (AOR = 16.39), fear of adverse reactions (AOR = 11.23), and assigning importance to the vaccinés country of origin (AOR = 3.72). Other risk factors were the following: male gender (AOR = 1.62), having children (AOR = 1.29), 9 years of schooling or less (AOR = 1.31), living in the Central-West region (AOR = 1.19), age ≥ 40 years (AOR = 1.17), and monthly income < U$788.68 (AOR = 1.13). The two vaccines available in Brazil, Covishield and CoronaVac, showed similar confidence, 80.13% and 76.36%, respectively, despite the higher rejection of the latter vaccinés Chinese origin. This online survey confirms the low vaccine hesitancy rate among Brazilians and allowed the identification of a profile that can assist the elaboration of communication strategies to increase vaccine adherence. National Institute of Women, Children and Adolescents Health Fernandes Figueira, FIOCRUZ, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Accidents related to Africanized honey bees are growing globally and are associated with multiple stings owing to the aggressive behavior of this species. The massive inoculation of venom causes skin necrosis and rhabdomyolysis leading to renal failure. Anaphylactic manifestations are more common and are treated using well-defined treatment protocols. However, bee venom-induced toxic reactions may be serious and require a different approach. We report the case of a 3-year-old child, which would help clinicians to focus on the treatment approach required after an incident involving multiple bee stings.

The vaccination of children and adolescents for the prevention of Covid-19 is important to:decrease in deaths and hospitalizations, prevent multisystem inflammatory syndrome, avoid long-term complications and decrease the suspension of on-site classes. Despite of these benefits, some studies have shown that some caregivers are still hesitancy. This is a voluntary and anonymous online survey conducted from November 17 to December 14, 2021, in Brazil, through a free-of-charge platform with a link provided on social networks. A bivariate analysis was conducted with the independent variables, with vaccine hesitancy as the outcome variable, and a multivariate logistic model was used to calculated adjusted odds ratios. The sample included 15,297 respondents. Approximately 13.3 % (2,028) of the caregivers were hesitant to vaccinate their children and adolescents against Covid-19 in at least one age group. The vaccination hesitanty rate of caregivers of children aged 0–4 years, 5–11 years and adolescents were 16 %, 13 %, 15 %, respectively. The principal factors associated with vaccine hesitancy were the following: belief that they need to wait longer, belief that children that had natural infection doesn’t need to vaccinate and belief that vaccine has long term adverse effects. Interpretation. The present study showed that the willingness of caregivers to have their children and adolescents vaccinated in Brazil is high compared to data from adult and pediatric international studies. This study provides a profile of the hesitant caregivers considering their perspectives and beliefs regarding vaccines that can help the elaboration of strategies to increase vaccine adherence.

Brazil has been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The high numbers of confirmed cases and deaths have continued unabated since the first reported case, with no flattening or downward turn in the curve. In this context, healthcare workers have been exposed uninterruptedly to stress factors throughout a year of the pandemic. The study´s aim was to identify and analyze healthcare workers´ perceptions of their feelings and concerns that have surfaced in responding to the pandemic. Method: This was a cross-sectional online qualitative survey study of 554 healthcare personnel working in the state of Rio de Janeiro during the COVID-19 pandemic. Recruitment occurred from July 20 to September 30, 2020, using an online survey, preceded byfree informed consent term. Data were analyzed with the Iramuteq software. Results: Through a dendrogram, the words with the highest chi-square were highlighted and grouped into four classes: healthcare workers´ fear of falling ill to COVID-19 and infecting their family members; work/labor issues; feelings of powerlessness and need for public policies for government action; and fatigue and burnout in the pandemic. Each word class was also illustrated by a similarity tree. Conclusion: The study revealed healthcare workers´ exacerbated fear of infection and transmission of COVID-19 to their family members, besides financial losses and feelings of powerlessness and abandonment.

Background: The control of the COVID-19 pandemic has been a great challenge. Understanding the thoughts and beliefs underlying vaccine hesitancy can help in the formulation of public policies. The present study aimed to analyze the social representations of hesitant Brazilians about vaccination against COVID-19. Methods: Qualitative research guided by the Theory of Social Representations, carried out through an online survey among Brazilian adults living in Brazil. The data were analyzed using the IRaMuTeQ software. Results: Of the 173,178 respondents, 10,928 were hesitant and declared reasons for vaccination hesitation. The analysis generated three classes: mistrust of the vaccine and underestimation of the severity of the pandemic; (dis)information and distrust of political involvement; and fear of adverse reactions to COVID-19 vaccines. Conclusions: Social knowledge, presented by the representations apprehended in this study, demonstrates difficulty in discerning the reliability of information and a social imagination full of doubts and uncertainties. Understanding the internal dynamics of these groups, with their representations of the world, is important to propose policies and actions that echo and cause changes in the understanding of the role of immunization. It is essential to shed light on the sociological imagination so that gaps filled with false information can be dismantled and confronted with scientific knowledge accessible to the population.