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(Adds Health Ministry comment)
By Pedro Fonseca
RIO DE JANEIRO, April 23 (Reuters) - Brazil’s COVID-19
vaccination program is being put at risk by people failing to
show up for their second shot, with 1.5 million people missing
appointments for the follow-up dose needed to maximize
protection, according to the Health Ministry.
Specialists say that is particularly concerning after a
recent real-world study from Chile found that the Sinovac
Biotech COVID-19 vaccine, which has accounted for some
80% of Brazil's program, is just 16% effective after one shot.
“Without the two doses, we get neither full protection nor a
long duration of protection,” Juarez Cunha, head of the
Brazilian Society of Immunizations, told Reuters. “We need
people to do the full cycle.”
Until this week, more people were dying in Brazil of
COVID-19 than anywhere in the world, with President Jair
Bolsonaro widely criticized for opposing lockdown measures and
pushing remedies like hydroxychloroquine that provide little or
no benefit. India has now surpassed Brazil in daily deaths.
In total, COVID-19 has taken more than 380,000 lives in
Brazil, the world’s second highest death toll behind the United
States.
The country’s vaccination program has also repeatedly missed
targets due to a shortage of doses resulting from delivery
delays of active ingredients from China and India.
Now, the failure of people to turn up for their second dose
is an extra worry.
Specialists and authorities involved in the campaign said
the low turnout appeared to be due to poor communication, with
people either not realizing the importance of the second shot or
simply forgetting when they were meant to go.
In some cases, they said, people might also have been put
off by a strong reaction to the first dose, which can frequently
cause short-lived fever and body aches. There have also been
long lines at some vaccine sites, which can be offputting for
priority groups vulnerable to COVID-19.
In response to a request for comment, the Health Ministry
said it is preparing a national media campaign to raise
awareness of the importance of getting the second shot. It did
not comment on why so many people are not showing up to complete
their vaccination cycle.
The ministry has previously said the problems are not due to
a shortage of shots, with second doses held back to ensure
availability on schedule.
But with so many second doses left over and with the promise
of future deliveries, the ministry changed its guidelines last
month to allow for all shots to be rolled out as first doses.
That stands in stark contrast with Chile, where the
vaccination strategy has shifted to prioritizing second doses
over getting more people an initial shot.
South America’s largest economy has a proud history of
successful vaccination campaigns and polls have shown that the
vast majority of Brazilians are keen to get inoculated. But
scientists fear the message about second shots is not getting
across.
“People need to wake up and hear every day on the radio, on
television, that you have to get your second dose, that you
can’t miss it,” said Cristina Bonorino, a member of the
scientific committee of the Brazilian Society of Immunology.
The study in Chile, which analyzed vaccine effectiveness
among 10.5 million people, found that efficacy in protecting
against symptomatic illness rose to 67% from 16% with the second
Sinovac shot. The AstraZeneca vaccine, which makes up
the rest of Brazil’s inoculations, by contrast is 76% effective
two weeks after the first shot.
“If a person doesn’t get their second dose, there’s no
guarantee at all that the immunization will work,” Bonorino
said.
(Reporting by Pedro Fonseca; Writing by Stephen Eisenhammer;
Editing by Bill Berkrot, Kirsten Donovan)
