In Brazil, people over 12 years old can be vaccinated against COVID

Brazil’s health regulator, Anvisa, authorized the use of the Pfizer / BioNTech coronavirus vaccine in adolescents over 12 years of age.

The announcement does not at the moment imply a change in the vaccination plan in Brazil, which is progressing slowly and currently only includes those over 18 years of age.

Uruguay this week became the first Latin American country to vaccinate minors against COVID-19. Chile also authorized the vaccination of adolescents between 12 and 16 years of age with Pfizer, but the campaign will begin after June 20.

In Brazil, the expansion was approved after the presentation of the studies developed by the laboratory that indicated the safety and efficacy of the vaccine for this group, Anvisa reported in a statement.

The studies were developed outside of Brazil and evaluated by Anvisa, detailed the agency, which had previously authorized its use in people over 16 years of age.

Pfizer’s vaccine is one of the two vaccines that has a definitive registration in Brazil (broader than emergency approval), along with Britain’s Astrazeneca / Oxford.

The country also vaccinates with CoronaVac, developed by the Chinese laboratory Sinovac and approved for emergency use. This same authorization obtained the immunizer from Janssen, from the American giant Johnson & Johnson, although it is not yet available in the country.

Brazil, with 212 million inhabitants, has vaccinated 11% of its population since January. The immunization plan is progressing slowly and has suffered several interruptions due to delays in receiving supplies and doses.

After covering health personnel, the elderly and people with comorbidities, in cities such as Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, vaccination by age group is only reaching adults over 50.

With more than 480,000 deaths from the pandemic, Brazil is the second country in the world with the most deaths from COVID-19.