After the statement by the Minister of Health, Marcelo Queiroga, last Thursday night (23), that vaccination against Covid-19 for children aged 5 to 11 would need a medical prescription and a “free informed consent form” , a large part of the health sector positioned itself this Friday against the measure.
In an interview with CNN, Renato Kfouri, representative of the Brazilian Society of Immunizations (SBIm) and the Brazilian Society of Pediatrics (SBP), says that the ministry’s idea is a “great disservice to the population” and that this movement highlights social inequality.
“We cannot force disadvantaged families to have to undergo medical appointments, which can take a long time, while giving the opportunity to more privileged families, as they usually have more access to doctors,” explains Kfouri.
He also says that the Ministry’s measure violates the equality “present of the status of children and adolescents”. The doctor claims that no court order can pass the constitution.
The SBIm representative also criticizes the measure of public consultation opened by the Ministry. “It’s no use creating this mechanism when anti-vaccination groups, led by the president [Jair Bolsonaro (PL)] influence the survey. Even more when you have several robots that do not represent the population and, consequently, discredit the immunizers”.
As a way out, Kfouri presents two opportunities: to carry out a research commissioned with representation in the states and economically, “not answered by machines”, and “just look at the number of vaccinations among adolescents aged 12 to 17 and you will know if the population is interested in vaccinate.
Data from the Ministry of Health show that, in total, more than 75% of the Brazilian population has already received the first dose, and more than 65.5% of people have the complete vaccination schedule – that is, they took two doses or the vaccine. Single dose.
Another idea that the doctor criticizes is the thought of ‘not enough children died to be vaccinated’. He says that “acceptable death levels are indisputable. We are not talking about elderly people in their 90s, but a lifetime”.
For Kfouri, the only chance of having a medical letter is if “a child in a special condition, according to medical evaluations, does not need to be vaccinated for health reasons. Thus, generating a waiver certificate”.
“It is necessary to have speed, not unnecessary delaying acts”, he concludes.
Pfizer responded to CNN, in a new manifestation, which expects to deliver vaccines to children as of January 2022.
Reference: CNN Brasil
