By March, the Ministry of Health should receive at least 20 million pediatric doses from Pfizer against Covid-19, enough to immunize about half of the population of children aged 5 to 11 years.
Minister Marcelo Queiroga said this Monday (3) that these vaccines should be distributed to the states in the second half of January, but he did not confirm the volume.
Discussions with the pharmacist are still open and there is no defined delivery schedule. The folder evaluates to expand the order of vaccines.
The IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics) estimated, in 2021, that there were 20.4 million people between 5 and 11 years old. As Pfizer’s vaccine is applied in two doses, the volume currently expected to arrive in Brazil in the first quarter should serve to immunize half of this public (10 million children).
Pfizer said, through a note, that it works with the government to define the steps for providing vaccines against Covid-19 for immunization of this age group. The laboratory stated that deliveries should start in January, but did not indicate the volume reserved for Brazil.
The negotiations take place at a time when President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) distorts data to cast doubt on the safety of the vaccination campaign for young people.
When contacted, the Ministry of Health did not confirm the information about the negotiation with Pfizer, which was passed on to leaf by government officials who follow the discussions.
The ministry said only that “it negotiated in advance with Pfizer the purchase of 100 million new doses of vaccines, including immunizations for all age groups”.
The ministry has already signaled to SUS managers that it should receive at least 20 million doses in the first quarter.
A new meeting of the laboratory with the ministry is scheduled for this Monday (3). Earlier, Queiroga said the vaccines should arrive in the second half of January, but did not go into details.
“In the second fortnight, they begin to arrive and will be distributed as we have been distributed,” he said in a conversation with journalists.
According to members of the Ministry of Health, the vaccines begin arriving on January 10, but they need to go through the quality control process before being distributed.
In a recent note, the folder said it was in favor of vaccinating this public. However, he stressed that the decision depends on the outcome of the public consultation, which ended this Sunday (2).
Pediatric doses will be delivered through a government contract to receive 100 million vaccines from Pfizer in 2022, which can be expanded to 150 million units. The purchase cost R$ 6.96 billion, in other words, around R$ 69 per dose.
The ministry will have to make an amendment to the contract to limit the order of doses for children. The technical area is still waiting for a definition from the top of the folder to publish this device in the Official Gazette of the Union.
The Health will still hold a public hearing this Tuesday (4) on the vaccination of children before releasing definitive guidance. At least two doctors against the immunization of children and advocates of drugs such as hydroxychloroquine, which are ineffective to treat Covid-19, should participate in the debate.
“On January 5, after listening to society, the folder will formalize its decision and, maintaining the recommendation, the immunization of this age group should start in January”, says the statement from the Health.
The intention of the folder is to recommend that children aged 5 to 11 years are vaccinated against Covid-19, provided that upon presentation of a medical prescription and parental consent.
According to the Minister of Health, the final decision will be taken by the parents, a practice that already takes place today. “Parents are free to take their children to receive this vaccine,” he said at a press conference.
The Conass (National Council of Health Secretaries) released a letter stating that it will not require authorization from doctors to immunize young people.
The date of the manifestation of the ministry commanded by Marcelo Queiroga coincides with the deadline established by Minister Ricardo Lewandowski, of the STF (Supreme Federal Court), for the government to provide information on childhood vaccinations. Lewandowski is the rapporteur of a PT request related to the subject.
The dose intended for children is equivalent to one third of that indicated for the group aged 12 and over. The bottle of the youngest immunizing agent has an orange coloration just to differentiate the product.
Anvisa (National Health Surveillance Agency) approved the use of Pfizer’s vaccine in this group on December 16, but the government still did not have the vaccines in hand.
After the decision by Anvisa, President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) opened a campaign to discourage vaccination of children. It even threatened to expose the names of agency members who participated in the analysis.
As a result, minister Queiroga, who welcomes Bolsonaro to cling to the post and is considering running for office this year, decided to put the issue in public consultation.
In an interview with leaf, the head of Anvisa, Antonio Barra Torres, said that Bolsonaro’s speeches encouraged threats to the lives of Anvisa employees.
Anvisa also evaluates the use of Coronavac to the public from 3 to 17 years old. In August 2021, the agency denied the same request made by the Butantan Institute due to lack of data.
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