Brazil to vaccinate children, stops before demanding scripts

BRASILIA, Brazil – Immunizations for Brazilian children aged 5 to 11 will begin in January, without the demand for doctors’ prescriptions that the government had previously reported, officials said. health the ministry announced on Wednesday.

The government directives come nearly three weeks after the health The regulator authorized the use of Pfizer’s shot for children, triggering a reaction from none other than President Jair Bolsonaro. After casting doubt on the vaccine’s effectiveness and refusing to be vaccinated himself last year, the president has in recent weeks taken a stance against vaccines for children and warning of possible side effects .

A study published in late December by US health officials confirmed that serious side effects from the Pfizer vaccine in children aged 5 to 11 are rare. The results were based on approximately 8 million doses given to young people in this age group.

Drawing inspiration from Bolsonaro, his health ministry published an online questionnaire on the matter last month, and some of the president’s supporters are also wary of the vaccine actively engaged in messaging apps trying to pressure people to that they modify the results.

They failed: the majority of the nearly 100,000 participants in the survey objected to the need for a medical script, a health ministry official said at a public hearing on Tuesday, without providing figures . Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Minister Queiroga also did not reveal the percentage of respondents opposed to the prescriptions.

“Regarding the prescription, a public consultation was held. We have heard from the company, from the specialists, ”Queiroga said. “This is not a step back; it’s part of the decision-making process. A recommendation was made.

Other countries, such as the United States, Germany, France, Argentina and Chile, already have their children immunized.

It was not clear whether the Brazilian health ministry could require children to obtain a prescription for vaccinations; the health secretariats of most Brazilian states have openly stated that they will challenge such an order. Although the ministry has refrained from issuing such a directive, its COVID-19 official has always said parents should seek medical advice.

“It is essential that parents see a doctor. Why? Children in this age group are developing and we have side effects. At this age, care should be more important, ”said manager Rosana Leite.

The announcement came a day after a small demonstration against childhood immunizations outside the office of the Pan American Health Organization in the capital Brasilia, where children held signs reading “I am not a guinea pig.” Inside, members of medical societies and experts participated in a government-organized public hearing to debate the issue, most of which bolstered the safety of the vaccine. Pfizer director in Brazil, Marjorie Dulcine, has repeatedly said: “The vaccine is not experimental.

Bolsonaro, for his part, characterized vaccination as a matter of personal choice rather than a means of ensuring the common good. He has repeatedly claimed, wrongly, that he was immune to the virus because he had already contracted it in 2020. At least 16 of his 22 ministers have been vaccinated, along with his political children and his wife. Bolsonaro has said he will not let his 11-year-old daughter get the vaccine.

Last month he said he would name and denounce the officials who endorsed Pfizer’s shooting at children, prompting a union representing health agency workers to voice concern about online abuse or even physical attacks.

In Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday, a group of people demonstrated in favor of immunizing children.

Two young boys were holding a sign saying, “The vaccine is a right!” The vaccine is safe! Vaccine yes!