The state of São Paulo released, this Thursday (20), the new vaccination schedule for children between 5 and 11 years old against Covid-19.
The state government estimates that all children in São Paulo will receive their first dose by the first half of February.
With the approval of the use of Coronavac for children and adolescents from 6 to 17 years old, dates were brought forward.
The immunizing agent from the Butantan Institute, however, will not be used in immunosuppressed children, and those aged 5 years will only be able to receive the Pfizer vaccine, following the release of the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa).
The announcement was made at the symbolic ceremony in which nine-year-old Caetano de Jesus Martins Moreira was the first child to receive Coronavac in the country.
In São Paulo, 4.3 million children will be immunized against Covid-19. Of this total, 850,000 are indigenous or have comorbidities or disabilities.
In the first published calendar, the state government recommended that city halls prioritize the vaccination of this second group.
Now, in addition to the immunization of these people, there is an escalation for other children aged between 5 and 11 years without comorbidities.
See the vaccination schedule for children in São Paulo:
- 20/01 a 30/01 – first dose for children 9 to 11 years old and 5 to 11 years old with comorbidities, disabilities, indigenous people and quilombolas
- 31/01 a 10/02 – first dose for children 5 to 8 years old and 5 to 11 years old with comorbidities, disabilities, indigenous people and quilombolas
5,200 SUS vaccination points and 274 public schools across the state will be made available. The government provides for the application of 250,000 doses to children per day.
Both immunizers approved for use in children have two doses. The interval between applications for Coronavac is 28 days, while for Pfizer it is eight weeks.
About Coronavac for children, which has the same dosage and formula as used in adults, the president of the Butantan Institute, Dimas Covas, explained that it is based on an inactivated virus, a method already used in other childhood vaccines and even in the immunizing agent against the flu.
Covas stressed that Coronavac is safe and efficient in the fight against Covid.
Vaccination of children in Brazil
During the press conference, Governor João Doria said that Butantan will provide doses of Coronavac for the Ministry of Health to complete the immunization of children. The Pfizer vaccine began to be used in this group last weekend.
According to the state government, eight million doses will be used in São Paulo. Another seven million can be transferred to the federal government or the states.
“The Butantan Institute will meet the full demand of the Government of SP and will make remaining vaccines available to the Ministry of Health to offer to the PNI. If there is any reluctance on the part of the Ministry of Health, which is not for reasons of science, we will make vaccines available to federated entities, to state governments that wish to obtain the vaccine”, said João Doria.
Dimas Covas added that Butantan has been offering doses of Coronavac to the ministry since October, but has not received any purchase signals so far. According to the director of the institute, it is possible to deliver 10 million doses in ten days.
Reference: CNN Brasil
