The vaccine is still the best way to save lives
In the heart of Goiás's seat of legislative power, a quiet but consequential act unfolded: nearly 600 people rolled up their sleeves and received free vaccines against influenza and COVID-19, not at a clinic they had to seek out, but at the place where they already were. For the fourth consecutive year, the Goiás Legislative Assembly brought prevention to its people, recognizing that access to health care is not merely a matter of supply, but of proximity and time. As autumn deepens and respiratory viruses gather strength, the gesture carries a weight beyond its numbers — it is a reminder that institutions can choose to meet people where they stand.
- Autumn and winter are arriving, and the strain of influenza currently circulating poses particular danger to children and the elderly, making the urgency of this campaign more than seasonal routine.
- Many government workers juggle multiple jobs and unpredictable schedules, and the friction of reaching a public health clinic during operating hours means vaccination simply doesn't happen for them.
- The legislature partnered with Goiânia's municipal government and the public health system to administer 500 flu doses and 80 COVID shots in a single day, aiming to reach at least 1,000 people before closing.
- Workers like Tatiana Oliveira, vaccinating her family annually since 2007, found that having the shot available on-site was the difference between protection and another year of good intentions unfulfilled.
- The campaign ran alongside a Brazilian Navy blood drive that collected 320 bags across four days, together framing the legislative palace as a hub of accessible public health rather than a hall of distant governance.
On a Thursday morning at Maguito Vilela Palace, a line had already formed before the doors opened. Inside, the Goiás Legislative Assembly was running its fourth consecutive vaccination campaign against influenza and COVID-19 — free, on-site, and open to anyone who walked in. By the end of the day, nearly 600 people had been vaccinated: 500 against flu, 80 against COVID.
The campaign was built around a practical truth. The legislature's Health Directorate, working with Goiânia's municipal government and the public health system, designed it to slow viral spread, reduce hospitalizations, and ease pressure on an already strained health system — precisely as the colder months approach. Health secretary Eduardo Bernardes made the case plainly: prevention is better than treatment, and the vaccine remains the most effective way to save lives. He also acknowledged that many workers in government buildings hold multiple jobs and irregular schedules, making a trip to a health clinic during normal hours an aspiration that rarely becomes reality.
Among the first in line was Andreia Ferreira Dourado from the Legislative School's administration — not in a high-risk group, but a faithful annual participant. Behind her came Tatiana Oliveira from Strategic Planning, who has vaccinated herself and her family every year since 2007. For Tatiana, the on-site campaign wasn't a convenience — it was the reason it happened at all.
The vaccination ran through the day with only a lunch break, and it wasn't the only health initiative at the palace that week. The Brazilian Navy's Itinerant Captaincy project had set up alongside it, collecting 320 bags of blood across four days in partnership with Goiás's blood bank. The Navy's mobile unit also offered document services, boat registrations, and nautical licensing exams — all free to the public.
Together, the vaccination campaign and the blood drive illustrated something the legislature seemed to be reaching for: that access to health care isn't simply about whether services exist, but whether people can actually reach them. Bringing both to the same building on the same week was a small act — and a meaningful one.
On Thursday morning, the doors of Maguito Vilela Palace opened early, and a line had already formed. Inside the ground floor of block A, the Goiás Legislative Assembly was running its fourth consecutive vaccination campaign against influenza and COVID-19, offering free doses to anyone who walked through. By day's end, nearly 600 people had rolled up their sleeves—500 receiving the flu vaccine, 80 the COVID shot.
The campaign exists for a reason that feels almost obvious until you think about the people it serves. The legislature's Health and Workplace Environment Directorate, working with Goiânia's municipal government and the public health system, designed the effort to do what vaccination campaigns do: reduce how fast these viruses spread, keep people out of hospitals, prevent deaths, and give the overburdened health system some breathing room. The timing matters. Autumn and winter are coming, and that's when respiratory viruses bite hardest.
Eduardo Bernardes, the legislature's health secretary, opened the vaccination station and made the case plainly. Prevention, he said, is better than treatment. He acknowledged something real about the people who work in government buildings: many juggle multiple jobs, have unpredictable schedules, and struggle to find time to visit a health clinic during normal hours. The legislature's president, Bruno Peixoto, had made it a priority to bring health care to the people who work there, and to extend it to the public as well. Bernardes emphasized that vaccination rates matter at the state level—they determine whether hospital beds fill up, whether people die from preventable complications. "The vaccine is still the best way to save lives," he said.
The campaign had been designed to reach at least 1,000 people in a single day. Bernardes stressed the current strain of influenza circulating in the region was particularly dangerous for children and elderly people, making the push for vaccination urgent.
Andreia Ferreira Dourado, who works in the Legislative School's administration, was first in line. She doesn't belong to any high-risk group, but she gets vaccinated against influenza every year without fail. She had arrived early to secure her spot. Right behind her came Tatiana Oliveira from the Strategic Planning Directorate, who has been vaccinating herself and her family against influenza annually since 2007. For Tatiana, the legislature's decision to bring vaccination on-site mattered because the alternative—finding time to go to a public health clinic—often doesn't happen. Here, the shot was quick and free.
The vaccination continued throughout Thursday, pausing only for lunch, then resuming until 5 p.m. It was one piece of a broader health initiative at the palace that week. The Brazilian Navy's Itinerant Captaincy project had also set up at the building, collecting blood donations in partnership with Goiás's blood bank and the legislature itself. Between Monday and Thursday, 320 bags of blood had been collected, with 78 donations coming on Thursday alone. The Navy's mobile unit was offering more than just blood drives—it was issuing and renewing documents, processing boat registrations and transfers, and administering nautical licensing exams, all free to the public through Friday.
The vaccination campaign and the blood drive together painted a picture of what the legislature was trying to do: bring essential health services to people where they already were, removing the friction that keeps people from protecting themselves and others. It's a small thing, a single day at a government building. But it's also a recognition that access to health care isn't just about whether a clinic exists—it's about whether someone can actually get there.
Citas Notables
Prevention is the best remedy, and the vaccine remains the most effective way to save lives.— Eduardo Bernardes, health secretary of the Goiás Legislative Assembly
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why does a legislature need to run its own vaccination campaign? Isn't that the government's job already?
It is, technically. But the government's job and what actually reaches people are different things. A lot of the people who work here have split schedules, second jobs, or just can't get away during clinic hours. So the legislature brought the vaccine to them.
And they're vaccinating the public too, not just staff?
Yes. The campaign was designed to reach a thousand people in one day. Staff got priority access, but anyone could come. It's the fourth year they've done this, so it's become expected.
What's the actual public health argument? Is flu really that dangerous?
In autumn and winter, yes. The current strain is hitting children and elderly people particularly hard. Hospitalizations spike, people die from complications. If vaccination rates stay high, you avoid that surge. If they drop, the health system gets crushed.
So this is partly about protecting the system itself?
It's both. Protecting individuals and protecting the system's capacity to care for everyone else. That's why the health secretary kept saying prevention is the best medicine—it's not just a slogan.
Did people actually show up?
They were already in line when the doors opened. Two women who work there have been vaccinating themselves every year for years. They know the value of it.