December 28, 2021

Vaccine denialism threatens Brazil's children

topic:	Health and Sanitation
located:	Brazil
editor:	Ellen Nemitz

The COVID-19 vaccination process began later in Brazil than in other countries: the first shot was administered in January 2021, covering the most vulnerable people, but it took several months for the population in general to have access to the jabs. Despite the sluggishness of the federal government, and even the attempts to demoralise the vaccine, Brazil has managed to fully vaccinate almost 70 percent of citizens over 12 years old and booster shots are even available for anyone who received the second dose four months earlier.

Now it is time to vaccinate kids between five and eleven years old, but this is not as simple when denialism is involved.

The Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency (Anvisa) has approved, on 16 December, the use of the Pfizer vaccine for children. The release published on the official website states that the authorisation is based on "careful technical analysis of data and clinical studies conducted by the laboratory" and that the dosage will be different than for adults. Since then, the Health Ministry, supported by the president, Jair Bolsonaro, has been imposing obstructions for the actual application of the vaccines. 

The minister, Marcelo Queiroga, and Bolsonaro have stated that the infant death toll "does not require urgent decisions." The Brazilian Society of Paediatrics contradicted them, saying that the child death toll in Brazil due to COVID-19 is among the highest in the world: nearly 300 kids in the group of 5-11 years old have died since the beginning of the pandemic due to the disease, and thousands of hospitalisations have been reported. The note further explains that COVID-19 in children can cause a Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome, which can also lead to death or neurological, cardiovascular and respiratory consequences.

Criticising the minister's stance, the paediatricians strongly recommend the vaccine for children as a "real alternative for the control and prevention" of the disease and its consequences, one that is "within reach of those responsible for public health policies in our country."

Despite the scientific-based support from this institution, from Anvisa and even from a member of the Health Ministry, who signed a technical note to the Supreme Court confirming the safety of the vaccine for children, the government will probably hold off on the decision at least until early January. A public consultation launched by the government - which reached the maximum number of responses in just three hours - was criticised by specialists because of the lack of means to guarantee the veracity of information and the needless broadening of a discussion already conducted by scientists around the world. 

"The real reason for a 'public consultation' convened under these conditions is to sow doubt, postpone important decisions, and offer a megaphone to false 'experts' who cannot get themselves taken seriously by those who really understand the subject," writes the microbiologist and president of the Instituto Questão de Ciência, Natalia Pasternak.

In the meantime, it is difficult to know when and in what condition the vaccine will be available - the mandatory medical prescription announced by the Health Ministry, for instance, is not likely to be required by some states, according to the latest reports, and is even under scrutiny by the Supreme Court. Moreover, Bolsonaro threatened to reveal the names of Anvisa employees responsible for the authorisation of vaccines for children, despite the death threats against them made by citizens alleging the decision could be dangerous for kids. 

It should be up to the authorities to give parents and families the right information and show that the vaccine is safe and the best option to prevent a disease that can kill or leave serious side effects. Amid the ideological dispute, it is easy to find people insecure about taking kids to get jabs when available, or even determined not to do so based on fears fueled by denialists. In the absence of a strong government concerned about people's health, the hope for a better 2022 for Brazilian kids fades.

Image by Torsten Simon

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