Due to shortage, Rio de Janeiro suspends application of first dose of Covid-19 vaccine

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The City of Rio de Janeiro announced Friday (23) that it would partially suspend the vaccination campaign against Covid due to a lack of available doses. The city says it has already deployed all of the first dose vaccines in its inventory, but the second doses will continue to be applied.

According to the schedule, the City would make this Saturday another day of vaccination for men and women of 35 years or more. On the first day, Wednesday, 74 thousand were vaccinated. Then, on Monday, it would be the turn of women aged 34 to receive the vaccine.

“Since all the vaccines intended for the first dose (D1) against Covid-19 have already been applied, and to ensure the supply for the planned second doses (D2), the Municipality of Rio de Janeiro will temporarily suspend the D1 vaccination program as of today (23rd). Vaccination will resume as soon as the Ministry of Health sends a new shipment of vaccines,” the municipality said in a statement.

SECOND DOSE IS TO CONTINUE

Vaccination centers in the city of Rio will continue to serve people who are expected to take the second dose in coming days.

Earlier, Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes said on his Twitter account that the city still does not know when it will receive its share of the vaccines that the Ministry of Health received this week. He said there could be delays in the Covid vaccination campaign if the expected shipment does not come to Rio.

“This week, the Ministry of Health received about 7.5 million doses of vaccine, and until now, we don’t know when we will receive them. We publish our calendar according to the arrivals communicated by the Ministry. If they do not comply, we run the risk of delays,” Paes wrote.

Fiocruz said it would deliver, also on Friday (23), 3.8 million doses of the vaccine. The input will be released in two shipments, with 197 thousand doses going directly to the state of Rio de Janeiro and the rest to the Ministry of Health warehouse.