The Minister of Health, Marcelo Queiroga, criticized this Saturday (22) in Manaus the adoption of the vaccine passport as a measure to encourage vaccination against Covid-19 in Brazil.
“We don’t want to force people to get vaccinated. We want to convince. This is the best way to defeat our only enemy, the virus. We don’t need so much tension, to discuss so many small and side squabbles. […] There’s no point in passporting this or that,” he said.
Queiroga arrived hand in hand with the mascot Zé Gotinha at the event that took place at the Sambadrome in Manaus. He led an event to encourage vaccination in the seven states in the North, which brings together states with the worst immunization rates in the country.
Amazonas, which faced two health system collapses, is going through the third wave with an explosion of cases and an increase in hospitalizations, but in smaller proportions than in the two crises of 2020 and 2021.
This Friday (21), there was a record number of infected by Covid-19 in 24 hours, with 8,063 new cases of the disease. The state registers an acceleration of infection, with an increasing trend since last week and has 558 people hospitalized for Covid-19.
In a speech, Queiroga said that, one year after the impact of the gamma variant on the health system, the country has a better capacity to respond to Covid-19.
“For the expressive reduction of deaths, everyone’s action was necessary. And our main public policy was our vaccination campaign against Covid-19”, said the minister.
He stated that few countries in the world had the capacity to apply vaccines like Brazil and that this was only possible due to a diversified strategy for purchasing immunizers. And he highlighted the role of the government in this process: “When I took over the ministry, people arrived there almost crying for a vaccine and today the vaccines are there.”
Queiroga defended the increase in testing and isolation of those infected by Covid-19, following the recommendation of the Ministry of Health. of control of the pandemic.
The minister also said that the federal government will make doses of Coronavac available to states and municipalities for childhood vaccination.
“Children’s vaccination is already duly authorized. And now, with Anvisa’s authorization, we will provide a second immunizer and all parents who want to vaccinate their children, the vaccine will be available.”
However, it did not give an indication of when Coronavac will be distributed for childhood vaccination.
In an interview with the press, Queiroga did not respond to questions about his visit on Wednesday (19) to the family of the girl from Lençóis Paulista, a case of cardiac arrhythmia that the Ministry ruled out related to the application of the vaccine.
Queiroga signed an agreement in Manaus that provides for the renewal of contracts for 108 professionals for primary care at Mais Médicos.
About 1,800 municipal employees are off work because they have contracted Covid or influenza. The mayor of Manaus, David Almeida, declared this week that the biggest current problem in the city is the lack of health professionals.
