This Tuesday (04), the Ministry of Health holds a public hearing to discuss vaccination against Covid-19 in children aged 5 to 11 years.
The meeting, with the presence of minister Marcelo Queiroga and other bodies in the area, takes place after a consultation with the population that lasted 10 days.
The immunization in the age group in question already had the approval of Anvisa on December 16, received a favorable opinion from the Technical Chamber, which advises the federal government in relation to vaccination against the coronavirus, and was endorsed by specialists from the medical community.
In an interview with CNN, the pediatrician and director of the Brazilian Society of Immunizations (SBIm), Renato Kfouri, said that the public hearing should not bring anything new to the discussion about childhood vaccination.
He highlighted the originality of the position adopted by the Ministry of Health in seeking the opinion of the population in relation to a technical issue.
“Listening to parents and families is always interesting to know what the population thinks. But for that you need to order a survey to ensure representation of states, economic classes, age groups”, he pointed out.
“Eventually it could even guide an awareness campaign to inform, but not decision making. It would be very regrettable for the Ministry of Health to base itself on the opinion of lay people when making a technical decision on vaccination”, he added.
Renato Kfouri considers “incomprehensible” the Ministry’s decision to open the discussion of childhood vaccination for public consultation. He emphasizes that he will be present at the public hearing scheduled to start at 10 am this Tuesday (4th).
“But we will be there, we will fulfill the rite and I hope that soon we will break this delaying barrier and start vaccinating the children as soon as possible”, he concluded.
Reference: CNN Brasil
