Brazil’s Ministry of Health refuted claims last month, stating it’s not the only country vaccinating children against COVID-19.
Yet, Brazil is the sole nation currently mandating COVID-19 vaccines for children six months to four years old, a policy enacted on January 31, 2023.
A July 2023 Nature Human Behavior study by Oxford researchers surveyed vaccination policies in 185 countries.
It found that 55 countries had mandates, often targeting specific groups rather than the entire population.
As of August 8, 2022, Brazil was unique in its comprehensive approach to child vaccinations.
Only Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Indonesia had previously mandated vaccines for children, but all have since retracted these policies.
Ecuador’s mandate was overturned in 2023; Costa Rica retracted its policy for 3-18-year-olds in Dec. 2022; Indonesia ended its mandate on January 1, 2024.
Bioethicists and the World Health Organization have recently questioned the need for mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations.
In September 2023, the Association of Bioethics Program Directors shifted its stance, advocating for ending vaccine mandates while still recommending vaccination.
The WHO, too, has expressed a preference for information campaigns over mandates since May 2022.
The Brazilian Ministry of Health links the decline in vaccination coverage to alleged ‘misinformation’ and leadership critiques.
It credits its efforts for a reversal in this trend, citing the greater risk COVID-19 poses to children under five years.
Despite reporting deaths in young children from COVID-19 and related syndromes, the Ministry’s statement did not directly address Brazil’s solitary stance on vaccine mandates for children.