Anvisa rebuts Bolsonaro and says he repudiates threats to vaccinate children

In response to the promise of President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) to expose those responsible for approving the vaccination of children in Brazil, Anvisa (National Health Surveillance Agency) said this Friday (17) that it repudiates any threat.

Bolsonaro, who has always criticized the Covid vaccine and tried to block immunizations for under-18s, said Thursday that he intended to publicize the names of the technicians “so that everyone knows who these people are and obviously forms their own judgment.”

On Thursday, earlier, Anvisa approved the use of Pfizer’s vaccine against Covid for children from five years. The same measure has already been adopted by several developed countries.

“Anvisa is always ready to meet demands for information, but it repudiates and vehemently rejects any threat, explicit or veiled, that may embarrass, intimidate or compromise the free exercise of regulatory activities and the support of our lives and families: our work , which is to protect the health of citizens,” the agency said in a statement.

The agency made a direct reference to Bolsonaro in the text. He said that the working environment of the regulatory body is “free from internal pressures and averse to external pressures”.

In October, the five directors of Anvisa were threatened with death if the approval of the vaccine for children took place. The threat was made via email.

In the note, Anvisa cited the death threats. The agency’s president, Antonio Barra Torres, said that the Federal Police has not yet responded to the request about guaranteeing protection for the agency’s most exposed directors and technicians. Sought, the PF did not manifest itself.

“In October of this year, after suffering death threats and all sorts of criminal acts by anti-vaccination agents, in the scope of vaccination for children, this national agency finds itself in the focus and target of violent political activism”, said the note from Anvisa.

Despite the release by Anvisa, vaccination of children against Covid will not start immediately. The Ministry of Health says that it will still have more debates to decide on the immunization of this group.

According to experts consulted by leaf, the vaccination of children is safe and represents an important tool against the Covid pandemic. Although minors usually do not have severe cases of the disease, they can be an important vector of virus transmission.

Specialists consider it necessary to have at least 80% of the total population vaccinated to stop the virus from circulating. Concern about the transmissibility of the coronavirus increases with the emergence of variants, such as omicron.

The main associations of the pharmaceutical industry released a note on Friday in defense of Anvisa. Despite not mentioning Bolsonaro, the text was a response to threats made by the head of the Executive.

“The knowledge and seriousness of Anvisa’s technicians are unquestionable, given their irreparable performance in the face of the chaotic scenario experienced in this time of pandemic”, said a note signed by 16 entities, such as Sindusfarma, Interfarma and Pró-Genéricos.”

“The threats that Anvisa’s servers have been suffering due to the approvals of vaccines against Covid-19 are unacceptable”, say the main representatives of this industry.