And four. In Brazil, people with an immune deficiency will now be able to receive a fourth dose of the anti-Covid vaccine, four months after the third, the Ministry of Health announced on Monday evening. In a circular, the ministry recommends “A booster dose for all immunocompromised individuals over the age of 18 who have already received three doses previously”. A measure which therefore applies in particular to people with a severe immune deficiency, to HIV carriers or to cancer patients following chemotherapy.
To speed up the vaccine campaign in the country where more than two-thirds of the population have already received at least two doses of the Covid vaccine, the same circular also provides for the reduction from five to four months of the interval between the second and third doses for the general population.
Bolsonaro’s “Fascist Methods”
The Brazilian government also announced Monday the donation of 10 million doses of vaccines to poor countries, through the Covax system of the World Health Organization (WHO). A donation that does not fit “Not compromise the vaccination plan” of the country’s population, assures the ministry.
In total, more than 617,000 Brazilians have died from Covid-19, making Brazil the second most bereaved country in the world behind the United States. And for good reason, the vaccine campaign began there late and in a chaotic fashion, while the far-right president Jair Bolsonaro has stepped up attacks against vaccines. The head of state still refuses to be vaccinated and strongly criticizes the decision of the health regulator Anvisa, which validated the vaccination for children aged 5 to 11 on Thursday. In his weekly live on Facebook, he asked for the publication of the names of the Anvisa members responsible for this authorization.
The association, which represents employees of the public agency, denounced the “Fascist methods” of President Bolsonaro. The management of the regulator, for its part, asked the Federal Police (PF) on Sunday for protection for its staff after having “Received threats of violence”. PF also opened an investigation Wednesday into death threats against Anvisa members, according to Brazilian media. CNN Brasil assures that one of the five directorates of the agency alone has received more than 130 threats since Friday.