In an interview with CNN on Wednesday afternoon (9), the municipal secretary of health of Rio de Janeiro, Daniel Soranz, said that the city expects to vaccinate about 200,000 children against Covid-19 during the next fifteen days.
Child vaccination against the coronavirus has faced challenges in the capital of Rio de Janeiro. Low adherence forced the Municipal Health Department to increase the duration of the immunization campaign and to adopt new approaches.
“The low adhesion is in all areas of the city, in all social classes. Unfortunately, there is a lot of fake news about childhood vaccines against Covid, so this certainly contributed to parents feeling insecure about this vaccination”, said Soranz, highlighting that the immunizer is safe, efficient, and has already been used in several countries worldwide. .
The municipality will adopt two new strategies in the coming days to boost the vaccination of children aged 5 to 11 years. The first, which began today, is the active search for unvaccinated children. About 3,500 community workers will look for parents and children, and visit households, looking at vaccination cards and calling for immunization.
The second campaign starts tomorrow (10) and is about vaccinating children directly in schools. “For vaccination, parents will receive a form, a letter of guidance. At the end of each school shift, staff from the family health clinic or municipal health center will be there to administer the vaccine. In the morning, it will be from 11:00 to 12:30, and in the afternoon from 15:30 to 17:00. When the father is going to take the child out of school, he follows the immunization. If the father is not present, we will vaccinate with the completed form”, explained the secretary.
Daniel Soranz stated that the reactions to the measures have been positive, and he asked for the support of society to promote childhood vaccination. “We will need the support of the whole society to publicize the safety of the vaccine and how important it is for the lives of children, for families, to block the spread of the Ômicron variant”.
Fourth dose of Covid-19 vaccine
According to the municipal secretary of health, Rio de Janeiro intends to apply a second booster dose to the general population of vaccines against Covid-19 in about a year after receiving the third dose.
The establishment of the campaign, however, depends on research and studies on the subject.
For immunosuppressed people, the fourth dose of the vaccine will be available four months after the application of the third dose.
Source: CNN Brasil
