Covid secretary contradicts Bolsonaro and says that vaccine for children is safe

The extraordinary secretary for coping with Covid-19, Rosana Leite de Melo, stated in a technical note sent to the Supreme Court (Supreme Court) that the vaccine against Covid-19 developed for children is safe, that the immunizing agent is a protection tool and that vaccination will alleviate class interruptions in the pandemic.

The position of Melo, who is part of the team of the minister of Health, Marcelo Queiroga, contradicts questions about the safety of the vaccine made by the minister and especially by president Jair Bolsonaro (PL).

“Before recommending vaccination [contra a] Covid-19 for children, scientists have carried out clinical trials with thousands of children and no serious safety concerns have been identified,” said the secretary, in a technical note completed on the 19th.

In the document, Melo detailed the technical analysis carried out “strictly” by Anvisa (National Health Surveillance Agency) and the approval of the vaccine for children aged 5 to 11 years.

“The vaccines [contra a] Covid-19 are being monitored for security with the most comprehensive and intense security monitoring program in the history of Brazil,” said the secretary of the Ministry of Health.

The technical note was prepared to support the position of the AGU (General Attorney of the Union) in a lawsuit filed in the STF, by the PT, which demands a schedule of vaccination of children against Covid-19. Minister Ricardo Lewandowski agreed with the AGU’s request and extended the deadline for defining this schedule to January 5th.

Lewandowski also ordered the Bolsonaro government to explain the decision to recommend the immunization of children by prescription.

The president and his minister of health have been acting to delay and make it difficult to vaccinate children. A public consultation was opened to hear opinions, despite ANVISA’s approval for vaccination.

The Covid-19 Coping Secretary was responsible for making the consultation public, which continues until the 2nd.

In an interview with journalists at Palácio da Alvorada, last Friday (24), Bolsonaro cast several suspicions about the safety of the vaccine approved by Anvisa. The immunizer is from Pfizer.

“I have an 11-year-old daughter. It is a new vaccine. There are no deaths of children that justify an emergency. And there are other interests, including distrust in all of this. Vaccine lobby”, stated the president.

“This distrust, huge questioning that exists there… Side effects: there are, they don’t exist, what are they? Myocarditis, among others,” added Bolsonaro, who said he spoke to Queiroga on the same day about the open public consultation.

“Whether it’s going to do well or not, the father decides. And he [Queiroga] it also wants to raise the issue of medical prescription,” said Bolsonaro.

The health minister has been following the same line as the president and said that a referral about vaccination will only take place from January 5th. “Hurry is the enemy of perfection. The main thing is safety,” said Queiroga on the 20th.

The technical note sent to the STF states that “during clinical trials, no case of myocarditis occurred in children aged 5 to 11 years who received the Covid-19 vaccine”.

Covid-19’s coping secretary said that children are as likely to be infected as adults, and “may get seriously ill with progression to hospitalization, in addition to long-term complications.”

The document that supported the AGU cites a late and severe inflammatory condition associated with Covid-19, developed by children, which has already caused 82 deaths until October. In the pandemic, a total of 308 children died from Covid-19. Almost 6,200 developed severe acute respiratory syndromes, as stated in the technical note.

“Covid-19 vaccination is a critical tool to better protect everyone against related complications,” said the secretary.

“The high vaccination coverage will contribute to reducing transmission in this group [crianças de 5 a 11 anos] and, therefore, will reduce transmission from children and adolescents to adults, the elderly and immunocompromised. Furthermore, mitigating interruptions in the education of children while maintaining safety and well-being are indisputable benefits to be considered,” he said.

According to the technical note, 25 countries have requested or authorized the vaccination of children under 12 years of age. Thirteen countries have started immunization. “Most did not recommend it to everyone in this age group, making restrictions on comorbidities, consent of guardians and guidance from the pediatric physician.”