Start of vaccination of children against covid-19 has repercussions among senators

Senators used social media to celebrate the beginning of the vaccination of children aged between 5 and 11 years against covid-19 in Brazil. The country received this Sunday (16) 1.2 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine, whose delivery, scheduled for January 20, was anticipated. Three capitals (Brasilia, Campo Grande and João Pessoa) started vaccination on the same day. At least ten others start the immunization of this public this Monday (17): São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Curitiba, Maceió, Goiânia, Manaus, Belém, Rio Branco, Macapá and Porto Velho. Cuiabá and Teresina will only pre-register for the time being.

Senator Álvaro Dias (Podes-PR) wrote that “more than 7,500 Brazilians received their first dose”. And that the municipalities will follow the recommendation of the Ministry of Health, starting the calendar with the priority groups: children with permanent disabilities and comorbidities and indigenous people and quilombolas.

Milestone for science

Also legislators such as Kátia Abreu (PP-TO), Paulo Rocha (PT-PA), Omar Aziz (PSD-AM) and Rose de Freitas (MDB-ES) celebrated the news. Álvaro Dias and Humberto Costa (PT-PE) commented that the immunization of children is approved by 79% of Brazilians, according to a Datafolha survey released on Sunday night. For Humberto, the beginning of children’s immunization is “a great milestone in favor of science and against denialism”.

Citing the same survey, Senator Rogério Carvalho (PT-SE) stated that most respondents agree that President Jair Bolsonaro hinders vaccination in the country.

Senator Eduardo Girão (Podes-CE) defended prudence on the measure and noted that it is up to parents to decide whether or not to vaccinate their children. The parliamentarian agreed with a statement by the Attorney General’s Office (AGU) against the mandatory immunization of children.

“In many Brazilian cities, such as Fortaleza, vaccination of children has begun. As the father of two young daughters, I will exercise caution at this time and agree with the AGU’s decision. It’s up to the family to choose or not,” he wrote.

Authorization of those responsible

The first shipment of vaccines for children, also comprising 1.2 million doses, landed in Brazil on Thursday (13) and has already been distributed to the states and the Federal District. The Ministry of Health notes that the immunization of children depends on parental authorization. In the case of the presence of those responsible, the written term is waived. The guidance of the folder is that adults seek the prior release of a doctor before vaccination, but a medical prescription is not required. Another recommendation is to access the websites of the respective Health Departments to find out if it is necessary to register in advance and what are the vaccination points.

According to the guidance of the ministry, childhood vaccination will occur:

In descending order of age (from the oldest to the youngest children), with priority for those with comorbidities or permanent disabilities and for quilombola and indigenous children;

Specialist

Head of the Senate Emergency Medical Service and responsible for coordinating the vaccination campaigns at the House, Jálisson Santos Cavalcante explained that vaccines administered to people over 12 years old and in children aged up to 11 they have different dosage and composition. The formulation of the immunizer for children, according to him, is for application in two doses of 0.2 ml (equivalent to 10 micrograms), at least 21 days apart.

— To avoid confusion, the immunizer has an orange cap, unlike the version for adults, which has a blue clasp — he explained in an interview with Agência Senado.

The government also reinforces that vaccines must be applied according to the recommendations of the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa), which attested to the safety of immunizers: exclusive vaccination rooms for children, exclusive vaccinators and a period of 20 minutes to observe possible adverse reactions. Their vaccination schedule consists of two doses, with an interval of eight weeks between the first and the second.

Safety

In letter published in December , the Brazilian Society of Immunizations (SBIm), the Brazilian Society of Infectious Diseases (SBI) and the Brazilian Society of Pediatrics (SBP) considered that the benefits of childhood immunization against covid-19 outweigh the risks. The publication warns that the burden of disease in children is relevant, which makes the mortality rate high in people aged between 5 and 11 years. And that the vaccine in this population demonstrated efficacy of 90.7% at least seven days after the second dose, and in a period of approximately three months.

The entities also note that, in the United States, more than 5 million doses of the vaccine against the infection have been safely administered to children.

“No serious adverse events associated with vaccination were observed. The company provided Anvisa with a safety database, each with approximately 1,500 vaccinated children, without identifying serious adverse events. It is important to note that the sample size is limited — about 2,500 monitored volunteers — and the follow-up time is relatively short to determine long-term safety,” says the letter.

Agência Senado (Reproduction authorized by means of a quote from Agência Senado)

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