COVID-19 Vaccination to Become Mandatory for Children in Brazil Starting at 6 Months of Age
The decision of the Brazilian government to seek to vaccinate small children is not supported by scientific evidence.
Commentary
The Brazilian government via its Health Ministry has added the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine to the country’s National Immunization Program (PNI) for children six months to five years old. As reported by Agência Brasil, the new policy will take effect in 2024 and will require at least three doses of the vaccine.
Approved on Nov. 29 by the Senate’s Committee on Social Affairs, law proposal No. 826 is currently being analysed by the Educational Commission.
With the obligation, not vaccinating children will result in fines and loss of social benefits to their families.
In addition to mandatory vaccination for young children, the Brazilian government may also introduce a compulsory vaccination program in schools. This will be the result of another bill under present consideration by the Brazilian Senate, establishing vaccine centres in the country’s schools.
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According to the newspaper Estadão, this law proposal states that students who do not participate in the school vaccination program would be reported to Brazilian authorities. “Five days after vaccination in the school unit, education professionals must send to the health unit a list with all students who did not receive the vaccination” along with the address and information of their parents or guardians.
As reported by CNN Brasil, the mandatory vaccination program also will be prioritised for other groups, including the elderly, immunocompromised, the permanently disabled, pregnant and postpartum women, health workers, those with comorbidities, Indigenous peoples, residents of long-term care facilities, the homeless, the incarcerated, and prison staff.
The Brazilian government claims the new policy is aligned with WHO recommendations. However, as openly acknowledged by Ethel Maciel, secretary of health surveillance of Brazil’s Health Ministry, “In Brazil, we have slightly expanded the group compared to WHO’s recommendations, which are more limited.” “We already have very robust evidence that indicates the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine,” Mr. Maciel also said.
However, this claim is not accurate. For example, a comprehensive study conducted by King’s College London scientists has concluded that the overall risk of children becoming severely ill or dying of COVID-19 is “extremely low.”
Therefore, “JCVI is of the view that the health benefits of universal vaccination in children and young people below the age of 18 years do not outweigh the potential risks.”
Given the already known potential harms of these vaccines, of which myocarditis is just one, and their entirely unknown long-term adverse effects, the decision of the Brazilian government to seek to vaccinate small children is not supported by scientific evidence.
Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
