(Brasilia) People with immune deficiencies in Brazil will be able to receive a fourth dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, four months after the third, the health ministry said on Monday.
In a circular, the ministry recommends “a booster dose for all immunocompromised individuals over the age of 18 who have already received three doses beforehand, from four months after” the last.
This measure applies in particular to people with severe immunodeficiency, to HIV carriers or to cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.
This same circular also provides for the reduction from five to four months of the interval between the second and the third dose for the general population.
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).
The Brazilian Ministry of Health assured that this donation would “not compromise the vaccination plan” of the population of the country.
Vaccination in Brazil has accelerated in recent months and more than two-thirds of the population has already received at least two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.
But the immunization campaign got off to a late and chaotic start, as far-right President Jair Bolsonaro stepped up attacks on vaccines.
The head of state, who refuses to be vaccinated, has criticized in recent days the decision of health regulator Anvisa to authorize 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.
An association which represents employees of the public agency denounced President Bolsonaro’s “fascist methods” and the regulator’s management on Sunday demanded from the Federal Police (PF) protection for its staff, after having “received threats of violence “.
The PF opened an investigation on Wednesday into new death threats against Anvisa members, according to Brazilian media. CNN Brasil assures that one of the agency’s five directorates alone has received more than 130 threats since last Friday.
More than 617,000 people have died from COVID-19 in Brazil, the second most bereaved country in the world after the United States.