In an interview with CNN This Thursday (10), infectious disease specialist Alberto Chebabo, president of the Brazilian Society of Infectious Diseases (SBI), argued that, at the moment, Brazil should focus efforts on vaccinating the population with the third dose of the immunizer against Covid-19. . The doctor said that it is important “to save the fourth dose for when we have more adapted vaccines”.
According to Chebabo, the fourth dose of the immunizer is recommended only for those who are currently immunosuppressed, whether adults or adolescents. The third dose, in his opinion, still has low coverage in the country and should be prioritized for the general population.
“It is more important to use the vaccines we have today to vaccinate the entire population over 18 years of age with three doses than to think about a fourth dose at this moment”, he said.
The infectologist considered that the vaccines currently used were developed from the original variant of the new coronavirus, identified in Wuhan. According to him, new immunizers are already being developed based on the strains that predominantly circulate in the population.
“Perhaps it would be more interesting to carry out this fourth dose with the vaccine adapted to the variants currently circulating than with the ones we currently have”, he evaluated.
Chebabo also highlighted the importance of having an equity in the pace of vaccination in the country, seeking to prevent some states from getting ahead of others in the application of new doses of the immunizing agent. “Even in states where there is a fourth-dose initiative, we still have low third-dose vaccine coverage,” he considered.
“It is much more important to have a concentrated effort to improve vaccination coverage with the three doses for the general population than to talk about the fourth dose”, said the doctor.
In the opinion of the infectologist, the updated Covid-19 vaccines should be launched in the second half of this year, and are already being developed by the manufacturers of the immunizations that are being applied to the population.
The doctor considered that in the coming weeks there should be “a significant reduction in the number of cases in the country as a whole”.
Source: CNN Brasil
