Bolsonaro government told states that it would leave vaccines for children halfway through

BRASILIA, DF (FOLHAPRESS) – The Ministry of Health tried to change the pattern in the process of delivering vaccines against Covid-19 to states at the last minute and indicated that the folder would leave pediatric doses halfway through. The command caused confusion in some cities.

In a note, the ministry admitted to the report that, in the confusion, ministry superintendencies were mobilized for transport and this “caused a mismatch ”.

The vaccines for children are being delivered by a newly contracted company with little experience in the logistics of immunizations. There were reports of doses that arrived late or in inadequate storage and transport conditions.

Ministry managers warned states that it would be up to the Health Departments to proceed with the logistics of doses until local cold stores. The report confirmed the information with representatives of three states.

The notice given by the ministry contradicts the practice adopted until then: the company that usually transports the vaccines has the attribution of concluding the displacement of doses from airports to storage centers in capitals, even due to the need for special treatment of immunizers.

Questioned by the report, the Ministry of Health stated, in a note, however, that some ministry superintendencies in the states and state health secretariats ended up mobilizing themselves to transport doses from airports to warehouses.

“The ministry emphasizes that the orientation for the deliveries of immunizations is the usual: the contracted company makes the transport”, said the ministry. distribution of doses, local health authorities, however, made immediate contact with the new company against ted, IBL (Intermodal Brasil Logística).

The fear of these authorities was that the vaccines could be lost due to the interruption of the transport chain.

The appeal had an effect in at least two cases and the immunizers were transported to the cold storage networks.

“ Vaccines arrive in Viracopos and are sent to the distribution center in Guarulhos [aeroporto em São Paulo]. There they are stored and the process of preparing the cargo begins so that the IBL can send it to the secretariats, even to each Health Secretariat”, said the IBL, in a note.

The company that so far delivers the other vaccines against Covid-19, VTCLog, is obliged by the Ministry of Health to deliver the doses of immunizations directly to the places indicated by the Health Departments of each state.

A report published by Folha de S.Paulo on Sunday (16) showed that the new company hired by the management of Minister Marcelo Queiroga (Health), with exemption from bidding, had no experience of transporting vaccines in the public service.

IBL won two contracts at the end of December, in the amount of R$ 62.2 million, to store and distribute the Pfizer vaccine intended for the immunization of children and teenagers. The contracts were signed by General Ridauto Lúcio Fernandes, director of DLOG (Department of Health Logistics) of the department.

In addition to the waiver of bidding, special conditions were established in the contract : the term of the contracts may be extended from one to five years, despite the urgency, and IBL gained 60 days to make the necessary adjustments to the execution of the services, a period that the company said was not necessary.

The beginning of the distribution of pediatric doses was marked by problems in several regions of the country during the weekend, when the immunization of children began.

Doses were received in the states under inadequate storage conditions. Flights were delayed, which delayed the start of immunization. In some airports, there were no IBL teams to receive and direct vaccines to final destinations.

One of the problems of lack of company teams at the airport, such as Folha de S.Paulo showed, took place in João Pessoa.

The State Secretary of Health of Paraíba, Geraldo Antônio de Medeiros, reported that the airline itself was not aware of the change of guideline in the operation and therefore did not want to release the doses to state agents. It required the presence of company representatives.

Only after several phone calls from the secretary, who warned of the risk of vaccines being lost, the company sent vehicles and transported the cargo until the local government unit.

This Monday (17), Medeiros confirmed again that the other vaccines for Covid-19 -which continue to be distributed, by another company – adopt a different operating system. VTCLog, responsible for transport and packaging, delivers directly to the location indicated by the secretariat.

In Goiás, local authorities were advised that the transport of the first batches of vaccine for children it would only be done as far as the airport.

The local government cold chain is located a few kilometers from the airport. A transport request was made to the company, which had an effect: the logistics were carried out to the storage center.

The transport of the first doses to the capital of Goiás suffered successive delays , with four reschedules. The plane ended up landing in Brasília, and it was necessary to transport the doses by land, a distance of 220 kilometers.

Before transporting vaccines for children, IBL provided a single service related to the pandemic, according to the Union’s Covid-19 Purchasing Panel: collection, separation and delivery of 100,000 masks to federal university hospitals, within a R$ 16,000 contract with EBSERH (Empresa Brasileira de Serviços Hospitals).

The contracts for vaccines involve 16.6 million vials, which must be stored and transported at a temperature between -90ºC and -60ºC.

The company reported a single vaccine transport experience, with a private laboratory, between 2015 and 2018.

About immunizers , the IBL stated that the cargo received in Guarulhos is stored in ultrafreezers, arranged in cold chambers, when the preparation for distribution to the states begins.

“Vaccines are accommodated in isothermal boxes, certified and validated for up to 72 hours with dry ice”, he said, in a note. “IBL Logística strictly complies with what is determined in the contract. The other prerogatives are exclusive to the Ministry of Health”, he said.

The company also said that it is one of the largest in the field of logistics in the country and that it was qualified by technicians from the ministry in the bidding waiver process. Vaccine deliveries are made “in record time, even before the limit required in most markets”.

The ministry said that there was no damage to any pediatric vaccine delivered to states and the Federal District. “The ministry provided all assistance to the federated entities in the process of sending doses, carried out in record time so that childhood immunization could begin. The company IBL appeared in all capitals to receive the cargo.”

The ministry also stated that there was a “selection process” for the choice of IBL, with “competition ” among several companies in the market.

Source: msn.com