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The Ministry of Health informed the STF (Federal Supreme Court) on Tuesday (15) that it will distribute the Covid-19 vaccine to the states within five days after the authorization of the product by Anvisa (National Health Surveillance Agency).
The folder also predicts that vaccination of the entire population may take 16 months.
The document is signed by Minister Eduardo Pazuello and establishes that the federal government should only transfer the immunizers to the states, which will have the function of distributing them to the municipalities.
The information was delivered after the government sent a vaccination plan to the STF and the case reporter, Minister Ricardo Lewandowski, demanded dates for the start and end of immunization of the population.
“The Ministry of Health estimates that within twelve months the vaccination of the general population will conclude, which will depend, concomitantly, on the amount of immunobiologicals available for use, completing the vaccination plan in a total of approximately sixteen months”, Pazuello said.
The response from the Ministry of Health, however, does not mention a date for the start of the campaign. The valuation of the portfolio is that it is not possible to set a deadline before Anvisa’s approval and that setting an estimate based on the regulatory agency’s decision was the possible alternative to respond to the Supreme Court.
However, experts were already charging the ministry for information on when vaccination could start from the moment this authorization occurs, which was not in the first version of the plan sent to the Supreme Court.
In the document sent this Tuesday, Pazuello points out that the Union will distribute the immunizers and will only help the federation entities to carry out the vaccination. “It is important to clarify that it is the responsibility of the states and the Federal District to distribute the immunobiological product to their respective municipalities and administrative regions, with the logistical support of the Ministry of Health,” he said.
The vaccination, according to the minister, will be carried out by the municipalities and will have “support and coordination” from the states and the federal government.
The preliminary document sent to the Supreme Court on Saturday (12) estimates that around 108 million doses are required for priority vaccination of health workers and the elderly, among others.
The 108 million vaccines cover 51 million Brazilians, less than a quarter of the population, today at 212 million inhabitants. The government plan recognizes the need for at least 70% of the population to be immunized to stop the virus, that is, more than 148 million people.
Amid criticism of the removal of the prison population from the list of priority groups, the AGU informed the STF that this group will be considered “in view of the general priorities already established in the plan, without prejudice to specific strategies, for example , as it is already in favor of prison officials “.
The ministry provides a 30-day period to vaccinate each of the four priority groups. Interlocutors heard by leaf They believe that the government will hardly be able to start immunizing these groups in December.
In this scenario, the truth is that, although the government already has some agreements for the acquisition of vaccines, some of the companies still have studies underway, and others, although they already have effectiveness results, have not yet requested endorsement for use of emergency. There is also a low prognosis for immediate delivery of doses by some of them.
Although it has already received the endorsement for emergency use in other countries, Pfizer, for example, which is negotiating to deliver 70 million doses to Brazil, expects only 2 million for the first quarter of 2021, according to a preliminary plan released by the government.
Last week, Pazuello said it would be possible to start applying the first doses of the Covid-19 vaccine offered by the federal government in December or January, in a restricted way.
The measure, however, is considered highly unlikely by the minister’s own assistants, who attribute the statement to the way the parliamentarians posed the question at the time. Given the criticism that the plan presented over the weekend would be generic, the Ministry of Health must launch a new version on Wednesday at a ceremony at the Planalto Palace.
The orientation is that the portfolio team tries to be more incisive in some parts of the document.
