Ministry says there was a momentary lack of doses between the 16th and 22nd

The Ministry of Health denied this Wednesday (23) that the country is experiencing a general lack of vaccines. In a note, the ministry mentions that there was a “momentary shortage” of vaccines against Covid-19 in the country between October 16th, the expiration date of the doses in question, and October 22nd.

The ministry highlighted that 1.2 million vaccines began to be distributed this Tuesday (22) – São Paulo, Paraíba, Rio Grande do Norte and Pernambuco, according to the statement, will receive vaccines starting this Wednesday. The ministry’s forecast is that, by next Friday (25), all states will have received their doses.

According to the ministry, in 2023 there was a widespread shortage of vaccines in Brazil, including pediatric doses against Covid-19, BCG (against tuberculosis), the dose against hepatitis B, the dose against oral polio and MMR ( against measles, rubella and mumps).

“In addition to problems in previous management, some of these vaccines are missing on the world market and others present national production challenges”, highlights the note. “To ensure the vaccination of our children, some vaccines, such as meningo-C and DTP (diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis) could be replaced by other vaccines, such as pentavalent and meningo ACWY, respectively.”

“Regarding the chickenpox vaccine [popularmente conhecida como catapora]an emergency acquisition of 2.7 million doses was made and the first shipments are expected to arrive in November. At the same time, a regular purchasing process is underway. In the case of yellow fever vaccines, 6.5 million doses should arrive in November”, concludes the ministry.

In September, a survey released by the National Confederation of Municipalities (CNM) revealed that more than 1,500 Brazilian municipalities report a lack of vaccines, especially pediatric doses. Among the main raw materials out of stock, according to the research, are vaccines against chickenpox and Covid-19, in addition to the meningococcal C vaccine.

The survey was carried out between the 2nd and 11th of September and involved the participation of 2,415 municipalities. Of these, 1,563 – equivalent to 64.7% of those who participated in the survey and around 28% of the total number of municipalities in Brazil – faced a lack of vaccines for at least 30 days.