Mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Eduardo Paes (PSD), said this Friday (24), that in the city it will not be necessary to present a prescription to vaccinate children aged 5 to 11 against Covid-19. The requirement was included by the Ministry of Health as guidance for the immunization of the public in this age group.
The mayor’s statement was made in a publication on Twitter, in which Paes evokes paragraph 14 of the Child and Adolescent Statute (ECA). In it, the following wording appears: “The Unified Health System will promote medical and dental assistance programs for the prevention of diseases that ordinarily affect the child population, and health education campaigns for parents, educators and students.”
The publication continues with another excerpt from the same article, the first paragraph, which says: “It is mandatory to vaccinate children in the cases recommended by the health authorities”.
On Monday (20), the Special Committee to Combat Covid-19, the Municipal Health Department (SMS) recommended the vaccination of children. The measure follows the decisions of the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa), which authorized the use of Pfizer’s immunizing agent for this public, and the recommendation of the Technical Chamber for Assistance to Covid-19’s Immunization (CTAI Covid-19).
At the time, the municipal committee also recommended that, if necessary, the municipality itself purchase the immunization agents.
“Aligned with the Scientific Societies and the best evidence so far available, the CEEC strongly recommends to the SMS that all measures be taken to implement the vaccination campaign in children, including evaluating the possible need for direct purchase from suppliers”, says an excerpt from the note.
At that time, the municipality showed interest in buying immunizations directly from Pfizer. However, the request was denied by the manufacturer, because there is already a contract with the federal government that includes doses for children. For the group, the vaccine underwent adaptations to the pediatric formula, with a different concentration of the active ingredient in each dose, in addition to a different color on the cap and label.
Reference: CNN Brasil
