The city of Rio began to apply the second booster dose of the Covid-19 vaccine to people aged 18 and over. According to the authorities, the interval between booster doses should be at least four months.
The expansion of the age range for the second dose occurs at a time when 70,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine are due for next Tuesday (2), in Rio.
According to the Municipal Health Department of Rio de Janeiro (SMS), these doses can be used until the end of the term.
“Taking into account the volume of people vaccinated per day in the city, the expectation is that, at least, most of this stock will be consumed within the deadline, avoiding or reducing losses”, he said.
The secretariat added that it extended the age range of the second booster dose after receiving, on the morning of this Thursday (28), a letter from the Municipal Health Department recommending the application.
The SMS also informed that “to be vaccinated, it is enough to present an identity document with CPF and proof of vaccination of previous doses”. The locations and times of the vaccination posts can be consulted on the city hall website.
According to the secretary, those who have flu-like symptoms should not receive the immunizer. In this case, the orientation is to look for a family clinic or municipal health center to perform a Covid-19 test.
According to data updated today at 11 am, in the city of Rio de Janeiro, of the 3,853,737 people who received booster applications, 1,451,501 people were immunized with the second dose.
Approximately 3.3 million people have delayed doses of the vaccine against Covid-19 in the municipality of Rio.
“Of this total, about 544,000 people have not completed the primary vaccination schedule, that is, they have not yet received the second dose. As for the booster dose, approximately 1.75 million people did not receive the first dose, and 1 million did not receive the second dose,” he added.
State coverage
The Undersecretary of Surveillance and Primary Health Care of the State Health Department (SES) of Rio de Janeiro confirmed today that it sent, this Thursday (28), to the 92 municipalities in the state a letter with the recommendation for the application of the second booster dose against Covid-19 in people aged 18 and over.
According to the SES, Pfizer, Janssen or Astrazeneca vaccines can be used, depending on the availability of the immunizer.
“The measure aims to expand the vaccination coverage of the population of the state, in view of the availability of doses for vaccinating adults and low demand by the groups until then released to receive immunization”, informed the folder.
The secretariat asks municipalities to organize the logistics of vaccination in their territories to avoid vaccine losses, especially in cases of presentation of multidose vials.
“It is also recommended to centralize user service, preferably with appointments by phone or other digital means, in addition to the prior disclosure of dates, times and locations of service to the population”, he added.
According to SES data, until yesterday more than 44 million doses of vaccines against covid-19 were distributed to 92 municipalities. Among them, 37,463,900 million were registered in the Information System of the National Immunization Program (SI-PNI) as applied.
“Of these total applications, 14,362,607 were from the first dose, 12,913,630 from the second dose, 7,298,025 from the first booster dose and 2,153,259 from the second booster dose. 399,531 single doses of the Janssen vaccine were also administered,” he said.
Source: CNN Brasil
