Tarcísio and Lula administrations differ over vaccine stock – 04/26/2023 – Health

The Ministry of Health said it will deliver 1.3 million doses of the bivalent Covid vaccine to the Government of São Paulo by the end of this week. The new shipment of immunizers comes after the federal government extended the campaign to the entire population over 18 years old.

The announcement generated discomfort between the Tarcísio de Freitas (Republican) and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) governments. Members of the State Department of Health complained about the fact that the Ministry of Health announced an extension of the vaccination booster without having sent more doses to the states.

According to the state portfolio, the target public throughout the state of São Paulo is 23 million people. When announcing this Tuesday that São Paulo would expand vaccination, the secretariat said it would distribute 600,000 doses from its own stock to the 645 municipalities. An amount of immunizers well below the demand of the population.

In a press release, Tarcísio’s management said, even on Tuesday, that he “requested new doses from MS [Ministério] and awaits, quickly, the sending of other immunizers by the federal government”.

And, given the lack of doses, São Paulo should start in a staggered way, prioritizing people in older age groups.

Members of the federal government were disturbed by the statements and told the Sheet that the São Paulo secretary made the request on the same Tuesday and, therefore, would not have enough time to deliver new doses. They also claim that São Paulo has a much larger stock than that of 600,000 doses.

The Ministry of Health said, in a note to the report, that it has already “provided 8.9 million bivalent doses to the state; so far, according to the LocalizaSUS platform, fed by states and municipalities, São Paulo has applied 3.3 million doses”.

“The folder [Ministério da Saúde] reinforces that all states are stocked with vaccines against Covid-19 to ensure vaccination of the population. Distribution is carried out in stages according to the target audience planned by local management, the progress of vaccination and the storage capacity of states and municipalities”, says the note.

“The Ministry of Health distributes vaccine doses to states in a timely manner so that state health departments can redistribute them to municipalities for application to the population”, concludes the Ministry of Health.

This Wednesday, the Government of S Sãoo Paulo countered the ministry’s information and says it has been waiting for 1,3 million doses to be sent two weeks ago. “The Secretary of State for Health of São Paulo informs that, until this Wednesday (26), it received from the Ministry of Health and distributed to the 645 municipalities about 7.6 million doses of bivalent, destined to the then eligible public of 14 .3 million people,” said the folder.

“For two weeks, the state has been waiting for the ministry to send 1.3 million doses to this first public, scheduled to be delivered this Thursday (27) and Friday (28), with two shipments of 677,100 each,” says the Tarcísio government.

The federal government has not reported how long it will be able to complete the supply of doses for the target audience of 23 million.

Each state is the one who defines the immunization scheme. It is estimated that 97 million Brazilians, over 18 years old, look for health units.

In the city of São Paulo, the campaign prioritizes the public aged 50 or over. Capitals such as Recife, Rio de Janeiro and Salvador have already begun to expand to the entire population over 18 years of age.

The bivalent contains a blend of the original virus strain from Wuhan, China, and omicron variants BA.4 and BA.5, providing increased protection against omicron and circulating strains of the Covid virus.

Anyone who has already received at least two doses of monovalent vaccines (Coronavirus, Astrazeneca or Pfizer) should take the bivalent vaccine, respecting a four-month interval between the last dose.