Butantan Institute has 1.8 million Coronavac doses in stock

The Butantan Institute sent, on Wednesday (11), 750 thousand doses of the Coronavac vaccine to the Ministry of Health. According to the institute, the delivery of the batch refers to the third amendment to the contract signed in 2022 with the federal government, which resulted in the shipment of 10 million doses in February, one million in September and one million in November, totaling 12 million doses. for the children’s audience.

The immunizer purchase occurs at a time when the stock of vaccines for pediatric use against Covid-19 was exhausted. The information was confirmed to the press by the secretary of Health and Environment Surveillance of the Ministry of Health, Ethel Maciel.

At Butantan, there are over 1.8 million doses in stock. According to Butantan, the Ministry of Health has already expressed interest in acquiring more units.

In 2022, the country recorded one death per day in children aged six months to five years due to Covid-19, according to a study by the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz). The vaccine is considered by public health specialists to be the main strategy for preventing severe cases and deaths from the infection.

However, a survey published in the journal Nature Medicine pointed out that, last year, the hesitation of parents and guardians regarding childhood vaccination against Covid-19 increased by 56.3% in Brazil.

Butantan claims that low coverage and vaccine hesitation in relation to children go against the positive safety and effectiveness data of Coronavac in children, proven by different scientific studies in the world.

In Chile, for example, the immunizer was 69% effective against hospitalization for Covid-19 in the age group of 3 to 5 years, in addition to having recorded the lowest rate of adverse events (10.67 notifications per 100,000 doses).