MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazil issues guidelines for people vaccinated against COVID-19 with Janssen

Thursday's recommendations are not intended for people vaccinated primarily with drugs other than Janssen, the Ministry warned.

Brazilian health authorities Thursday launched a campaign explaining the proper use and handling of the Janssen COVID-19 vaccine and the number of booster doses recommended for this specific drug.

The Health Ministry Thursday issued a document recommending that those who started the vaccination scheme against COVID-19 with Janssen's immunizer, should receive three booster injections after the initial monodose scheme.

The first booster dose should be applied between 2 and 6 months after the initial single dose. The second booster dose should be taken 4 months after the first booster, in which case vaccines from Pfizer, Astra-Zeneca or also Janssen can be used.

According to the ministry, people over 40 years old can take the third booster, which should be applied after the four-month interval from the second. Again, in these cases, the recommendation is that Astra-Zeneca, Pfizer or Janssen are also used.

”It is important to emphasize that this scheme is recommended only for those who started the vaccination against COVID-19 with Janssen, that is, took the single dose of the immunizer. People who started the vaccination schedule (first and second dose) with other immunizers and were vaccinated with Janssen as a booster dose do not fit these recommendations,” the Ministry highlighted.

Meanwhile, Rio de Janeiro City authorities will begin Friday vaccinating 4-years-olds against COVID-19 after the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) authorized the drugs Wednesday. The immunization campaign will reach 3-year-olds starting next week, it was announced.

Rio de Janeiro City Hall will start tomorrow (15) the vaccination of 4-year-old children against covid-19 and will reach 3-year-olds next week, Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes announced.

Children in these age groups will receive the Chinese-developed CoronaVac vaccine, produced locally by Sao Paulo's Butantan Institute. Two doses are to be applied 28 days apart from one another.

Vaccination of children aged 5 to 11 years old is already underway since January with Pfizer's pediatric drug or also with CoronaVac.

CoronaVac was the first vaccine against covid-19 applied in Brazil, on January 17, 2021, and is produced from an agreement between the Butantan Institute and the Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac, which developed the immunizer.

The vaccine has already been approved in 56 countries and by the World Health Organization (WHO) and had about 1 billion doses applied worldwide.

(Source: Agencia Brasil)