Ministry of Health reverses; releases vaccination of children without prescription

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Ministry of Health on Wednesday, January 5, authorized the administration of the vaccine against Covid-19 in children aged 5 to 11 without the need for a doctor’s prescription.

In the press release, the Ministry did not set a specific date for vaccination to start, which will be carried out by age group, in a descending order, with priority for children with comorbidities or permanent disabilities.

The forecast is that 3.7 million pediatric doses of the Pfizer vaccine will reach Brazil this month and the remainder by March.

The government estimates a total of 20 million children in this age group.

“It’s not the group with the highest mortality rate, but all lives are important, particularly our children,” said Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga during the announcement.

The Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency (ANVISA) had endorsed childhood vaccination 20 days ago.

Despite not requiring a prescription, the Ministry of Health advises parents to seek prior recommendation from a doctor. Parental authorization will be required only if the parent is not present at the time of vaccination.

The decision not to demand a medical prescription is in line with the national Councils of State Health Secretariats (CONASS) and Municipal Health Secretariats (CONASEMS), as well as with the majority of participants in the public hearing launched by the Ministry of Health.

The day before Christmas, Queiroga said that the government would vaccinate children only if prescribed by a doctor, which sparked criticism from experts, because the same requirement for other age groups was not imposed. At the time, the measure was considered a means to hinder immunization.

After the Minister’s statement last month, CONASS released a “Christmas letter to the children of Brazil,” in which it stated that it would not demand a doctor’s prescription. In a public hearing on Tuesday, January 4, CONASEM representative Kandice Falcão said that the entity is “strongly against the requirement of a medical prescription for the vaccination of children. She said that asking for the document is “impractical.”

The public hearing, whose format was criticized by experts and had flaws during its execution, also showed that most participants were against the compulsory vaccination of this public and ended on Sunday, January 2.

“We had 99,309 people participating in this short period of time in which the document was up for public consultation. Most of them agreed with the non-compulsory vaccination and the prioritization of children with comorbidities. The majority was against the compulsory requirement of a doctor’s prescription at the time of vaccination,” said the Special Secretary for the Fight against Covid-19 Rosana Leite de Melo.

The public hearing promoted by the Ministry of Health was not attended by ANVISA representatives. When invited, the agency decided not to participate because it felt it had officially expressed its opinion.