Brazil’s Superior Court denies lawyer’s request to vaccinate 7 year-old daughter against Covid

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Superior Court of Justice (STJ) chief Justice Humberto Martins denied a lawyer’s request to vaccinate his 7-year-old daughter against Covid-19. In Brazil, immunization of children aged 5 to 11 is under public hearing, and is expected to begin in January 2022.

Filed on December 24, the preliminary injunction was rejected on Wednesday, December 29. The Chief Justice ruled that it is the Executive’s responsibility to define a public vaccination policy. The Justice stated that the “danger of a delay” has not been proven.

In the initial petition, the Londrina-based lawyer, acting on his own behalf, justified that he was unwilling “to wait for lucidity, where darkness reigns, for the current government to decide to purchase and administer the vaccine.”

However, the Justice found that this was not enough to grant a preliminary injunction on an emergency basis. The lawyer was notified of the ruling by e-mail.

UNDER ANALYSIS

The Ministry of Health confirmed the information that the vaccination of children aged 5 to 11 against Covid-19 will begin in January. The Ministry is currently holding a public hearing on the vaccination of this age group, after Minister Marcelo Queiroga stated that the issue “is not consensual.”

According to Ministry sources, the vaccination of children should start on January 10.

The issue has been the target of controversy since the directors of the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency (ANVISA), in charge of approving vaccines, received threats.

Federal Supreme Court (STF) Justice Ricardo Lewandowski filed a lawsuit requesting that President Jair Bolsonaro be investigated for saying he would disclose the names of ANVISA staff who approved the vaccination of children against Covid-19.

After requesting a statement from Bolsonaro’s defense, the magistrate ordered the Prosecutor General’s Office (PGR) to rule on the need for an investigation. In the lawsuit, federal deputy Reginaldo Lopes, leader of the Workers’ Party in the Chamber of Deputies, accuses the President of intimidating ANVISA employees.

Special secretary for the fight against Covid-19 Rosana Leite de Melo sent the STF a technical note in which she clarifies that no safety issues have been identified in the vaccine for children over 5 years of age, i.e., the immunizer is completely safe.

“Before recommending [the] Covid-19 vaccine for children, scientists conducted clinical trials with thousands of children and no serious safety concerns were identified,” the secretary said in the letter.

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