Brazil will apply the fourth dose of the coronavirus vaccine to the immunosuppressed 4 months after the third

Immunosuppressed people may receive a fourth dose of the vaccine against coronavirus in Brazil, four months after the application of the third, announced this Monday the Ministry of Health.

The portfolio recommended in a note “A booster dose for all immunosuppressed individuals over 18 years of age who have already received three doses previously (…) after four months” of the last.

The measure particularly concerns people with severe immunodeficiencies, such as HIV carriers or cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.

The ministry also reported that it plans to reduce the interval between the second and third doses from five to four months for the general population.

The government also announced on Monday the donation of 10 million doses of vaccines to vulnerable countries, through the Covax system of the World Health Organization (WHO).

The ministry assured that this donation “will not compromise the vaccination plan” of the population in the country.

Vaccination in Brazil has accelerated in recent months and, so far, more than two-thirds of the population has already received at least two doses of the immunizers.

But the immunization campaign got off to a late and chaotic start, amid attacks on vaccines by far-right President Jair Bolsonaro.

The head of state, who refuses to be vaccinated, has criticized in recent days the decision of the health regulator, Anvisa, to authorize the vaccination of children between 5 and 11 years old.

During his weekly presentation broadcast live on Facebook, Bolsonaro requested the publication of the names of the Anvisa members responsible for the authorization.

An association representing Anvisa employees denounced Bolsonaro’s “fascist methods”. The regulator asked the Federal Police for protection for its personnel after having “received threats of violence.”

Covid-19 has caused more than 617,000 deaths in Brazil, the second most mourning country in the world in absolute numbers after the United States.

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