Rio de Janeiro changes municipal vaccination schedule starting next week

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – With the aim of accelerating the pace of vaccination pace, the city of Rio de Janeiro will begin an intense immunization schedule starting Monday.

The first dose will be given to people age 15 and up, until the end of August. Unlike other periods in the campaign in the city, only one adult age group per day will be reserved. The city expects a high participation and that the number of daily applications will reach some 60,000.

To be able to accelerate the campaign without leaving previous groups uncovered, City Hall urged adults aged 33 or older to use the rescheduling option on Friday and Saturday. No new dates are planned for first-dose backlogs for at least two weeks.

Next week will be the turn of residents aged 32 (Monday) to 27 (Saturday). In the one age per day schedule, women will be vaccinated in the morning and men in the afternoon. The schedule for adults runs through August 18 for the 18-year-old population.

Health Secretary Daniel Soranz emphasizes the request for people not to wait for the rescheduling nor to choose which vaccine to get. Minors are expected to begin the vaccination process in August, starting with 17-year-olds on August 23.

“It is very important that young people have the discipline to get vaccinated on their day, without choosing the vaccine. Therefore, we recommend that if it is your day to be vaccinated, you should plan to be there. Our campaign will be at a very accelerated stage where the volume of people to be vaccinated is much higher,” Soranz said.

Undersecretary of Health Surveillance Márcio Garcia pointed out that the city is still trying to get residents who are late for their first dose to attend vaccination posts and to complete their vaccination schedule with the second dose.

“We are still reaching out to those who for some reason haven’t been vaccinated yet. It is an ongoing effort by the health department,” Garcia said.

The Ministry of Health does not expect further interruptions in the delivery of batches through the National Immunization Plan (PNI), as was the case this week, which led to the suspension of the first dose administration to people aged 34 and older on Monday and Tuesday.

According to Soranz, the strategy is to continue expediting the calendar and, to this end, the Secretariat relies on deliveries from the PNI at least three times a week. The municipality was to receive a new batch on Friday or Saturday for the shots scheduled starting Monday. The secretary points out that he has requested the prompt transfer of doses, as soon as the Ministry receives them from manufacturers.

Soranz says the federal government portfolio has planned around 1 million doses from Pfizer for August, possibly reaching 2 million in some cases, 2 deliveries per week from the Butantan Institute, CoronaVac’s manufacturer in Brazil, and once a week from the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), responsible for the national production of AstraZeneca.

“We always have vaccine deliveries for 3 days. So, to fulfill our schedule the Ministry of Health needs to deliver vaccines at least 3 times a week. We request the Ministry to deliver vaccines on the dates it receives them, which is every day,” the secretary said.