Conhecimento científico e o papel social da vacinação na compreensão de docentes que atuam em escolas públicas do município de Glória de Dourados-MS

Abstract

Brazil still carries the burden of 700,000 deaths produced by the "misgovernment" of former President Jair Messias Bolsonaro. During his "misgovernment," false news, known as fake news, was produced on various topics of interest to the Brazilian population, including vaccination. The social importance of vaccines was imploded during the Bolsonaro "misgovernment" through the propagation of fake news on social media. This false news about vaccines was circulated uncritically among health and education professionals—two important areas for helping to address and overcome fake news about vaccination. In this direction, we understand that the school is an important institution for building knowledge and collective responsibility regarding public health. Thus, the objective of this research was to investigate the scientific and social understanding that teachers who work in state schools in the municipality of Glória de Dourados-MS have about the importance of vaccination. To achieve this objective, we constructed a questionnaire with questions involving age, time in teaching, academic background, and issues related to vaccines that were circulating on social media and in schools. The research data indicate that despite the amount of fake news about vaccines, most teachers, 91.4%, understand that the vaccine is important in preventing diseases. This finding can strengthen immunization policies as a strategy for public health, contradicting the fake news that promotes the idea that vaccines are harmful to health, or that some of them cause polio and autism. Although a portion believe that the vaccine causes illness, the majority of teachers trust the efficacy of the vaccine and its social role in the lives of everyone. We conclude that the teachers who work in the state schools of Glória de Dourados-MS have a good scientific, social, and political background regarding the vaccine and its social role in strengthening collective health.