Ministry says states have doses for 3- and 4-year-olds and plans relocation

The federal government plans to reallocate the doses of Coronavac between states to make it possible for children aged 3 and 4 to be vaccinated against Covid-19, in an attempt to guarantee the supply of units of the federation that complain about the lack of immunizations to meet this public- target.

This Tuesday (19), the executive secretary of the Ministry of Health, Daniel Pereira, said that the states have 1.2 million doses of Coronavac in stock and that the folder is raising the needs of each municipality. He admitted, however, that there may be bottlenecks in the capitals and did not give an estimate of time to start the logistics operation.

“The first step was to survey the doses that we had in each state, to see exactly where they have the greatest supply and where the demands are. whether or not to carry out this relocation”, he said.

“Maybe the problem is in some capitals. So, [talvez] relocation within the municipalities can be carried out. We are seeing this logistics. One thing is for sure: there was no shortage of vaccine for those who decided to vaccinate themselves throughout the pandemic and there will be no shortage now, at this moment.”

Since the use of Coronavac was released by Anvisa (National Health Surveillance Agency) on Wednesday (13), some federation units said they do not have enough doses to start vaccinating the new target audience. There are about 5.6 million children aged 3 and 4 years old in the country.

The executive secretary said that “these doses that are already in the states allow vaccination, without any problem”, and that city halls can also prioritize older children or children with comorbidities – as is the case in the city of São Paulo.

Pereira said that only 60% of children aged 5 to 11 years have been vaccinated so far and that, therefore, the ministry’s assessment is that municipalities do not need to wait for the delivery of 100% of the doses to start vaccination.

The secretary also stated that the federal government is studying importing doses already contracted through the international consortium Covax Facility or making a new purchase via the Butantan Institute, in São Paulo. According to him, the ministry is working so that vaccines arrive within 30 days.

“Butantan is an option, the Covax Facility consortium is another option. We are evaluating how we can bring vaccines faster, so that they reach the end, without burdening the ministry’s budget so much,” he said.

The emergency use of the vaccine for children aged 3 to 5 years was unanimously approved by Anvisa, without restrictions. The indicated vaccination schedule is the same as for the rest of the population: same dosage and 28-day interval between the first and second dose.

The Ministry of Health recommended that, after applying the first dose, municipalities already reserve the second dose of Coronavac to complete the vaccination schedule of the child who was immunized. The folder said that the technical note with the guidelines will be published this Tuesday.

The City of São Paulo starts on Wednesday (20) the vaccination of children aged 3 and 4 with comorbidities, disabilities or indigenous people. In the city of Rio de Janeiro, the immunization of children in this age group began on Friday (15).