The possible application of the fourth dose of the vaccine against Covid-19, already discussed by states such as São Paulo, can help control the pandemic, but not before Brazil solves an immunization “bottleneck” present in several municipalities, evaluated the coordinator. from Fiocruz’s Covid-19 Observatory, Carlos Machado, to CNN this Thursday (10).
“If we do not guarantee equitable access, the virus continues to circulate. The fourth dose helps protect mainly a portion of the population in the capitals, but does not guarantee the protection of the population as a whole,” Machado said.
“It is essential that we advance in the vaccination of children simultaneously”, he added.
For the researcher, the spread of the Ômicron variant in Brazil, which has generated a new wave of cases and deaths from Covid-19, may also represent a “window of opportunity” to block the coronavirus in the country.
This is because a significant part of the population became infected with the virus and developed an immune response that, if combined with vaccination, could generate this temporary blockade to the variant.
“The pandemic will only end when it is controlled throughout the world, but people would be able to advance a lot in Brazil, reducing the number of cases and critical and serious hospitalizations”, pointed out Carlos Machado.
The coordinator also noted that the Covid-19 vaccination campaign has always made it clear that the focus of immunization “is to prevent [a doença] evolve to critical and severe cases”, and that the vaccine also increases protection against other possible variants that may arise.
Source: CNN Brasil
