The third dose of vaccination begins in Brazil this month; Capitals launch calendars

According to the Ministry of Health, The third dose of the vaccination Against Covid-19 will start in Brazil in September. The first group to receive the booster dose will be the elderly over 70 years of age and those with immunodeficiency.

The third dose of the vaccination should take place from September of the year Older adults over 70 years of age who are immunosuppressed. According to the Ministry of Health, the preference is to use doses of the vaccine Pfizer.

The third dose of vaccination was announced by the Ministry of Health last Wednesday (25). Expectations are that states will begin vaccination as of September 15th. It is preferable to use doses of Pfizer vaccine. However, vaccines from AstraZeneca and Janssen can also be used.

The booster is used for anyone who has taken any vaccine used in a vaccination campaign. Therefore, it will not be necessary to take from the same manufacturer.

For the elderly, the recommendation is that the third dose of the vaccination be taken no more than six months after the completion of the vaccination schedule.

For immunocompromised people, the recommendation is that the booster dose be applied 28 days after the second dose. Included in this group are:

• People who have had solid organ or bone marrow transplants;
• Persons with HIV and CD4 <350 cells/mm3;
• Persons with active immune-mediated systemic rheumatic diseases using a dose of prednisone or equivalent >10 mg/day or receiving pulse therapy with corticosteroids and/or cyclophosphamide;
• people using immunosuppressants or who have primary immunodeficiency;
• People with malignant hematomas.
• Cancer patients who have had chemotherapy or radiotherapy in the past six months.

The effectiveness of the third vaccination dose

The decision to implement a booster dose was taken by the Ministry of Health jointly with the National Board of Health Trustees (CONAS), the National Council of Municipal Health Trusts (CONASMES) and the Technical Advisory Chamber for COVID-19 Vaccination.

The third dose is recommended by the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) in an “experimental nature”. However, only in people over 80 years of age and people with weakened immunity who have taken the CoronaVac vaccine.

Studies have shown that protection from vaccines declines over the months following completion of the vaccine sequence. For this reason, it is necessary to apply a booster dose for all vaccinations.

A UK survey found that Pfizer’s protection fell from 88% in one month to 74% in up to six months. In the case of AstraZeneca, the drop fell from 77% to 67% in a period of up to five months.

Expected doses

During the announcement of the third dose of Covid-19 VaccineThe volume also reports that the interval between AstraZeneca and Pfizer will be offered from 12 to 8 weeks. The new recommendation will take effect from September.

However, the ministry did not provide further details on how In anticipation of the second dose. However, it has been informed that managers will receive new guidance to speed up the immunization campaign.

Before the announcement, some municipalities had already begun to anticipate. For example, in São Paulo, the city council opened “xepa” for the second dose on day 23 for those who had taken Pfizer or AstraZeneca for more than 30 days.

The federal district also announced the expectation of the second dose of Pfizer for those who will receive the Covid-19 vaccine through September 3. The Aracaju Municipal Health Department is also providing doses of AstraZeneca and Pfizer for those who will complete the vaccination sequence by September 4.

Cities where the third dose will be applied

The first country to implement the booster vaccine was Mato Grosso do Sul, and the campaign began on 27. The target audience was the elderly who received the second vaccine six months ago. Therefore, the calendar is limited to those who received the second dose until February 28.

In Salvador, the third dose was started on Monday (30) for elderly people over 80 years of age. They can’t receive the booster until after they’ve completed six months of taking the second dose.

São Paulo will start implementing the booster dose from September 6, according to Governor João Doria. At first, people over 60 years old will receive the third dose. The estimate will include 900,000 residents.