Even with the daily warnings from the Ricardo Nunes (MDB) management that UBSs (basic health units) and AMAs (outpatient medical care)/integrated UBSs open from 8 am to 7 pm for the vaccination of children against Covid, the posts in the city of São Paulo, in practice, end the immunization at least half an hour before.
The early closure is done to avoid the risk of doses remaining in the vials, inform employees of the units. Questioned, the Municipal Health Department does not confirm the guidance for earlier closing of the queues.
The immunization of children aged 5 to 11 years in the capital of São Paulo has been taking place since last week. It started on the 17th, with Pfizer’s pediatric vaccine for those with comorbidities and permanent disabilities, in addition to indigenous people and quilombolas, and was expanded, last Saturday (22), to the general public from 6 to 11 years old, after approval. use of Coronavac by Anivsa (National Health Surveillance Agency).
Around 6:30 pm this Monday (24), autonomous Bárbara Gonçalves Simões, 23, took her son Miguel, 5, to UBS Cidade Líder, in the east side, but was unable to vaccinate the boy.
According to the mother, an employee at the unit said she could wait until 7 pm, when the post closes, but warned that they would only open a new vial of vaccine if there were ten children, so that all the doses in the bottle were used.
“As it was just me and two other mothers, I had to leave, without being able to vaccinate my son”, said Simões.
Last week, the municipal secretary of Health, Edson Aparecido, said that each vial of Pfizer’s pediatric vaccine has ten doses that need to be applied within 12 hours after opening the package. In the case of Coronavac, also with ten doses, the deadline is eight hours.
A leaf confirmed the orientation in UBSs or AMAs in all regions of the city of São Paulo. At UBS Jardim Miriam 2, in the south zone, for example, an employee said that the practice is designed to avoid wasted doses.
At UBS Brasilândia, in the north zone, the attendant said that at the place the queue is closed at 18:30, also because of the capacity of the post, thus allowing the unit to close its doors at 19:00.
The employee also said that she has advised parents that they could only take their children at the end of the day, and thus they would run the risk of not getting the dose, to look for the post on Saturdays.
The warning that children may have to come back the next day so there is no waste of an open bottle was also confirmed by the report at UBSs in Bela Vista, in the central region, in Limão, in the north, and in Jardim Jaqueline, in Vila Nova de Gaia. Sonia (west area).
The secretariat says only that “in order to avoid any wastage of doses, once a bottle of immunizer with ten doses is opened, the unit has eight to 12 hours for application, in the case of Coronavac and Pfizer, respectively”.
Because of the open vials that are not fully used until the end of the day, since the beginning of the immunization of children against Covid-19, the folder has adopted the “vaccine xepa”.
That is, employees call close to the closing time of the posts for parents who have registered, warning that there are remaining doses. Thus, families have a few minutes to take their children to the unit.
The “xepa” was adopted when vaccination was still restricted to children with comorbidities or permanent disabilities, in addition to indigenous people and quilombolas, but, at the current moment of the campaign, the vaccine can be applied to anyone aged between 5 and 11 years, which emptied the meaning of this waiting list.
“The units are oriented to offer infant immunization until 19:00 and, after this time, if necessary, carry out the active search through the list of remaining doses”, said the folder.
According to the secretariat, until last Tuesday 7,971 remaining doses were applied to children in xepa.
For pediatrician Ana Escobar, professor at the Faculty of Medicine at USP (University of São Paulo), the government needs to find an alternative to avoid wasting vaccine and not let a child return home without being immunized.
“The ‘xepa’ is a good solution, because the health post is open until its limit, vaccinating all the children that arrive, and, when it is close to closing, the professionals observe that there are doses left and they call the parents”, he said.
Renato Kfouri, pediatrician, infectious disease specialist and director of SBIm (Brazilian Society of Immunizations), also points to the registration for remaining doses as a way out of the problem, even though vaccination is currently open to all children aged 5 to 11 years.
“The xepa that São Paulo makes is sensational and solves a difficulty, because if there are [vacina], there are those inscribed to minimize the loss.”
According to the secretary, until Tuesday (25), about 201 thousand children received the first dose of the vaccine against Covid in the capital of São Paulo, that is, 18.6% of the estimated public.
VACCINATION AGAINST COVID-19 IN THE CAPITAL
Megapostos e drive-thrus
From 8 am to 5 pm
For teenagers and adults
see addresses
UBSs and AMAs
Children*, teenagers and adults
From 7 am to 7 pm
see addresses
*Children’s vaccination starts at 8am
Source: Municipal Health Department
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