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Fiocruz points to delay in the booster dose of the Covid-19 vaccine

In a technical note released this Wednesday (16), the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) points out that no age group has, so far, reached the rate of 80% vaccine coverage with the booster dose against Covid-19. According to the bulletin, the level was not reached even among the elderly, who were the first to receive the additional dose.

Last week, the Ministry of Health announced that more than 20.8 million elderly people have already received the booster dose in the country. The index represents 66.61% of the more than 31.3 million people in the elderly who are able to receive the booster.

“Admissions to clinical beds, ICU beds and hospital deaths have increasingly concentrated precisely among the oldest old. In this way, elderly people who do not maintain a supplementary regimen up to date are in a particularly dangerous situation, even with the reduction in incidence and mortality in the population as a whole”, warn the researchers.

The document called “Vaccination Coverage Differentials According to Age Groups in Brazil” highlights that the level of vaccine coverage against Covid-19 is not homogeneous among age groups in the country. The technical note also emphasizes that the level of vaccination coverage is important information to make active search strategies and guidelines on the application of specific doses more efficient.

Currently, the main challenge is the vaccination of children aged 5 to 11 years, a group that represents 9.5% of the Brazilian population. The researchers responsible for the survey say they believe that the spread of fake news is the main responsible for causing insecurity in many parents about the risks of vaccinating their children.

The analysis also shows that the groups aged between 12 and 49 years are the only ones that do not have first dose coverage above 90%.

The population of adults between 40 and 44 years of age has the lowest coverage among adults, while those under 29 years of age are the only ones with full-scheme vaccine coverage below 80% for the second dose or single dose. The age group between 35 and 49 years old has the lowest coverage of the first dose and the age group of 12 to 17 years has much lower coverage of the second dose than the rest of the groups.

The scientists also advise that, despite the expectation of the World Health Organization (WHO) about the downgrading of the status from a pandemic to an endemic one, it is necessary to be cautious in decision-making by managers, especially in the flexibilization of the use of masks and relaxation of the physical distancing.

According to them, the recent rise in Covid-19 in European and Asian countries should be understood as a warning to Brazil in managing the pandemic.

“It is unreasonable to think that this is a choice, between vaccinating or wearing masks, or between wearing masks or being exclusively in open environments. All available resources to prevent the circulation of the virus must be taken concurrently. Therefore, encouraging increased vaccination coverage does not exclude other protection strategies, whether individual or collective”, they say.

A survey of CNN shows that at least 14 states and the Federal District have already made the use of the mask optional in open environments. The Federal District and seven states already allow the removal of protection in closed environments: Rio de Janeiro, Santa Catarina, Mato Grosso, Minas Gerais, Rondônia, Alagoas and Maranhão.

Last Monday (14), Rio completed a week of non-mandatory indoors. The city was the first capital in the country to allow the withdrawal. The only sanitary measure for Covid-19 still adopted in the municipality is the collection of the vaccine passport in commercial establishments.

According to the Municipal Health Department, the release was based on the number of Covid-19 cases in the city and vaccination coverage. According to the latest data from the Rio Covid-19 Panel, the fatality rate from the disease is 0.3%.

Basic care helps prevent Covid-19

Source: CNN Brasil

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