The regional governments of the 27 states of Brazil decided to rise up against the decision of the Government of Jair Bolsonaro to condition the vaccination of children under 12 years of age to a medical prescription, and announced that they will immunize children without having to present a medical request.
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The announcement was made in a statement by the National Council of Health Secretaries (Conass), which brings together the health secretaries of the 27 states, after the Minister of Health, Marcelo Queiroga, announced the restriction that hinders the vaccination of minors in Brazil.
“Unfortunately there are those who consider it natural that the coronavirus takes their lives, little ones, but with vaccines we have already beaten polio, measles and more than 20 diseases that can be prevented. For this reason, instead of making it difficult, we are going to facilitate the vaccination of all Brazilians ”, according to the document that Conass published in the form of a Christmas card addressed to children.
The agency added that its message on Christmas Eve is that, when the vaccination of children begins, their parents will not have to present any medical document that recommends the vaccine and that all will be immunized without any requirement.
The health secretariats are covered by a decision of the Supreme Court last year, which considered that regional and municipal governments have autonomy to determine the most convenient measures to combat the pandemic.
Since the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa, health regulator) authorized the use of the Pfizer laboratory’s covid vaccine in children between 5 and 11 years of age, on December 16, Bolsonaro, leader of the Brazilian far-right denier, has been putting up obstacles to start immunization.
The head of state even asked for the disclosure of the names of the Anvisa technicians who had authorized the vaccination of children so that they could be publicly censored.
The Federal Police had to open an investigation to identify the perpetrators of dozens of death threats directed at Anvisa officials by Bolsonaro supporters who reject vaccination of children.
The Minister of Health alleged that the Government was not obliged to follow the guidance of the regulatory body and said that it would only start the vaccination of minors after the recommendation of a technical body of the Portfolio – which gave its approval to the immunization – and of a popular consultation.
But even before the online consultation, which he only kept open for two hours and after meeting exclusively with opponents of the vaccine, he affirmed that the Government will only authorize the vaccine for children who arrive at health posts with a medical prescription and a document in that their parents take responsibility for what happens.
Queiroga went on to say that the number of children killed by covid in Brazil did not justify rushing to make a decision about their vaccination, which generated harsh criticism.
More reactions
“On Christmas Eve the Minister of Health makes an absurd statement that seems to be Herod’s, while creating obstacles for the vaccination of children,” said former Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on his social networks, which the polls indicate as a favorite for the presidential elections next October.
Joao Doria, another presidential candidate and governor of Sao Paulo, affirmed that the most populous state in Brazil will not require a medical prescription to vaccinate children under 12 years of age. “Failure to vaccinate children is an abominable crime. Making it difficult to vaccinate children should be a crime without the right to bail, “he said.
Similarly, the Scientific Committee of the Northeast Consortium, which represents the governments of the 9 states located in the northeast of Brazil, spoke.
The entity stated in a statement that it had not identified “any scientific, medical or technical justification for the public consultation carried out by the Ministry” and added that it “recommends urgency in starting the vaccination of minors.”
Brazil, the second country with the most deaths and the third with the most COVID-19 infections in the world, accumulated 618,228 victims and 22.2 million cases until this Thursday since the start of the pandemic, on February 26 of last year.
Despite the high numbers, the average deaths (119 per day) and cases (3,090 per day) are at their lowest levels in twenty months, something attributed to the advance in vaccination, since about 67% of the 213 million inhabitants It has the complete immunization cycle, and despite Bolsonaro’s criticism of vaccines.
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