Brazil receives another 1.2 million doses for vaccination of children against Covid

Brazil received on Sunday morning (16) another 1.2 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine against Covid-19, aimed at children aged 5 to 11 years.

The doses arrived at Viracopos International Airport, in Campinas (SP). The first shipment, also comprising 1.2 million doses, landed in Brazil on Thursday (13) and is being distributed to the states and the Federal District.

The Ministry of Health expects to receive 30 million pediatric doses from Pfizer by the end of March.
The vaccination campaign for children was opened on Friday (14). The first immunized was Davi Seremramiwe Xavante, an 8-year-old indigenous boy.

In this first phase, children with comorbidities, permanent disabilities, indigenous people and quilombolas will be immunized. Next, the Ministry of Health recommends that those living with people in the risk group be vaccinated.

Next, there will be a scaling by age group, starting with the oldest.

So far, only the Pfizer vaccine is approved for use in children. The board of Anvisa (National Health Surveillance Agency) should decide next week whether to allow the use of Coronavac in the public from 3 to 17 years old.

In August, the agency’s board of directors denied a request to use Coronavac in this group, on the grounds of lack of data. Members of Anvisa claim that the process is now more solid.