The Ministry of Health announced this Wednesday (5) that the vaccination of children aged 5 to 11 years against Covid-19 in the National Operational Plan should start in January of this year with an interval of two months (eight weeks) between the first and second dose.
The document released by the folder to the journalists present says that “the immunization of this group will require parental authorization” and adds that “in the case of the presence of those responsible for the vaccination, there will be a waiver of the written term”.
It also says that the orientation of the folder is that “parents seek the prior recommendation of a doctor before immunization”, but, as anticipated by CNN’s Basilia Rodrigues, there is no requirement for a medical prescription to perform the vaccination.
The text also says that the vaccination of children will happen in a decreasing manner and will prioritize groups with permanent disabilities or comorbidities, as well as children who live at home with people at high risk of serious development of Covid-19.
In children without comorbidities, immunization by age group will be performed:
- From 10 to 11 years old;
- From 8 to 9 years old;
- From 6 to 7 years old;
- 5 years old.
“Our children, who are the future of Brazil, deserve special emphasis, because this public needs to be assisted with a specific vaccine”, said Minister Marcelo Queiroga.
As anticipated by CNN, analyst Caio Junqueira, the first batch of childhood vaccine against Covid-19 that the Ministry of Health intends to apply will have 3.74 million doses, of which 1.248 million should arrive next week. The information had been confirmed by sources in the folder.
The expectation is that the imported batches are distributed to the states as they arrive — from January 14th, according to Rodrigo Cruz, executive secretary of the Ministry of Health, date informed during the press conference.
According to the Minister, 20 million vaccines — equivalent to the total number of children in this age group — must be in their entirety in the country by the end of the first quarter of 2022.
The press conference, which began more than 1 hour late, has the participation of the Minister of Health, Marcelo Queiroga, Rodrigo Cruz, executive secretary of the Ministry of Health, Jurandi Frutuoso, executive secretary of the National Council of Health Secretaries ( Conass), Arnaldo Correia de Medeiros, Secretary of Health Surveillance, Marcela Alvarenga, Executive Secretary of the Council of Municipal Health Secretaries and Rosana Leite de Melo, Extraordinary Secretary for Covid-19.
The minister also highlighted that the decision was based on information collected in the public consultation.
“The vaccine for children is produced by Pfizer and has a different dosage from that distributed for adults. The vaccine was approved by Anvisa and soon after this approval the Ministry of Health held a public consultation, then we held a public hearing with several professionals and from the information obtained in the public hearing and with full attention to what was said by Minister Lewandowski, we are here .”
At the press conference, Rosana Leite said that the folder received many demands from people concerned about this issue. [vacinação infantil], about which immunizing agent to use or not and that’s why the Ministry decided to hold the public hearing that took place yesterday.
“Today is the concreteness of the decision-making we made. The only immunizing agent that we have authorization for children aged 5 to 11 is Pfizer. It is essential that the fathers and mothers of these children consult a doctor before taking this vaccine, as the child is in the development stage. Those responsible for the child must be present and if they are not, they must send a written authorization”, he said.
Queiroga pointed out that adverse events caused by vaccination can occur in all age groups.
“It is necessary for everyone to know the benefits [da vacina], such as the reduction of severe cases, as well as the adverse effects — which we do not know yet and will only know in the phase 4 study”, he comments.
When asked about the time elapsed after the indication of Anvisa, the Minister of Health said there was no delay in making a decision on vaccination in children. “Brazil is absolutely on schedule,” explains Queiroga.
Public consultation and hearing
The National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) had already authorized the use of Pfizer’s vaccine against Covid-19 in children from 5 to 11 years old in Brazil on December 16th.
However, the Ministry of Health advised that there was a requirement for a medical prescription for vaccination in children under 12 years of age. The portfolio then published a public consultation for members of civil society to give their opinion on the matter.
The hearing that discussed the result of the information collected in the consultation took place last Tuesday (4), and was attended by representatives of the Pan American Health Organization, Federal Council of Medicine, National Council of Justice (CNJ), Brazilian Society of Infectology, Brazilian Society of Pediatrics, National Council of the Public Ministry, Brazilian Medical Association, National Council of Health Secretaries (Conass) and Pfizer.
The Ministry reported that most of the nearly 100,000 contributions made to the public consultation were against the requirement for a prescription. In addition to most experts, heard on the panel, maintain the same position as Anvisa and indicate the childhood vaccine.
During the press conference, Queiroga stated that all “data collected during the public consultation will be placed very clearly and transparently in the final recommendation report of the Ministry of Health.”
Vaccine for Children
The immunizing agent for children will be different from that used for people over 12 years of age. The vaccine dosage for this age group will be adjusted and lower (one third).
According to Anvisa, the proposal is to have different bottles, with specific dosage for each group. The bottles will be differentiated by the color purple for adults and teenagers and orange for children, according to Pfizer.
Queiroga spoke during the press conference that the vaccination campaign will cost the folder R$ 2.6 billion reais — if all parents adhere to the vaccination. “If I order a much larger number of doses than the expected vaccination, those doses will expire. And each dose has a cost”, commented the minister.
Reference: CNN Brasil
