Brazil’s Health Minister: “Vaccinating children is not an urgent decision”

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Amid pressure on the government to start vaccinating children aged 5 to 11 against Covid-19, a measure authorized by the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency (ANVISA) and endorsed by the scientific community, Minister of Health Marcelo Queiroga said on Thursday, December 23, that deaths by the disease among this age group are so low that there is no need for “urgent decisions.”

According to the Ministry of Health’s Mortality Database, at least 1,148 children aged 0 to 9 died from Covid-19 in Brazil since the start of the pandemic. The number corresponds to 0.18% of deaths from the coronavirus, but exceeds the total number of infant deaths from diseases with existing vaccines.

“The deaths of children (by Covid-19) are at a level that does not call for urgent decisions. It favors the Ministry of Health, which must take its decisions based on quality scientific evidence,” Queiroga said.

However, ANVISA and other specialists have confirmed that there is scientific evidence to vaccinate children aged 5 to 11 with Pfizer’s pediatric dose, following safety and efficacy studies. In fact, Fiocruz argues that the measure is essential for collective immunity against the disease.

The Ministry of Health has opened a public hearing on the vaccination of this age group, given President Jair Bolsonaro’s resistance to immunizers. “Fortunately the number of deaths in this age group is low. Does this mean that we should not worry? Of course not. But even if vaccines were to begin to be administered tomorrow, that would not be able to retroactively solve the problem,” Queiroga added on Thursday.

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