BRASILIA — The National Council of Health Secretaries (Conass) will not comply with the requirement for a prescription to vaccinate children against Covid-19. Among managers, the feeling is of indignation at the measure, which they consider “absurd”.
The secretaries prepared a reaction to the subject, which came out in a statement after meeting this Friday. In the text, they are addressed to children, stating that they will seek ways to facilitate immunization, without requiring a prescription.
“Unfortunately, there are those who think it’s natural to lose your little ones’ lives to the coronavirus. But with Zé Gotinha we have already conquered polio, measles and more than 20 vaccine-preventable diseases. Therefore, instead of making it difficult, we try to facilitate the vaccination of all little Brazilians”, says the letter.
The National Council of Municipal Health Secretariats (Conasems) assesses that there is no need for the requirement and that they are studying a decision, but the focus is to make vaccines reach the municipalities
The Ministry of Health opened a public consultation on the immunization of the public from 5 to 11 years old, in which it defended not only medical prescriptions, but also parental authorization. The publication came one day later than the date announced in the Official Gazette of the Union (DOU).
The public consultation consists of a 27-page document that contains the position of the folder on child vaccination to be carried out in a non-compulsory manner. In addition, there is a form with 19 questions asking for personal data and participants’ opinions on the topic. Read the main points:
- “Do you agree that the benefit of vaccination against COVID-19 for children aged 5 to 11 years should be analyzed on a case-by-case basis, and it is important to present the consent form of parents or guardians?”
- “Do you agree that the benefit of vaccination against COVID-19 for children aged 5 to 11 years should be analyzed on a case-by-case basis, with pediatricians or physicians accompanying the children prescribing the vaccine being important?”
The prescription requirement, which had already been defended by President Jair Bolsonaro, was anticipated by the Minister of Health, Marcelo Queiroga, on Thursday. Among specialists, the assessment is that the measure can remove from vaccination children who have little or no access to health services.
Consultation went offline after two hours
The questionnaire accepts up to 50,000 responses, a milestone reached in two hours. With that, the query was taken off the air. It was still possible to fill in the form, but not submit it, as a warning appeared that the maximum number of responses had already been reached. Security criteria were waived, as there is no anti-fraud mechanism, CPF or CNPJ validation, information processing consent form based on the General Law for the Protection of Personal Data (LGPD).
A new form was opened around 11:30 am for new contributions. The forecast is that the public consultation will be open until January 2nd. The ministry must hold a public hearing on the topic on the 4th of the same month. A day later, the folder intends to manifest itself.
The National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) released Pfizer’s vaccine for children aged 5 to 11 last week. By decision, there must be two doses of Pfizer, with an interval of 21 days. The announcement intensified the wave of threats, including death, that the agency began receiving in October.
