Delay in purchasing the covid-19 vaccine postpones campaign and leaves states without dosesRafael Barreto/PMBR
Published 04/17/2024 22:52 | Updated 04/17/2024 22:54
Delays in the process of purchasing vaccines against covid-19 by the Ministry of Health led to the postponement of the start of this year’s immunization campaign against the disease and are already causing shortages in several states in the country.
The problem, according to the ministry, was caused by an impasse between the pharmaceutical companies Pfizer and Moderna, who were fighting in court over differences in the purchasing auction. Experts, however, say that the lack of vaccines is also related to the ministry’s lack of planning.
In February, the ministry stated that it was in the process of purchasing the updated vaccine against the XBB.1.5 strain (a subvariant of omicron) and that it would receive doses of the vaccine in March, indicating that the campaign would begin last month. The statement was made on social media by the ministry’s Secretary of Health and Environmental Surveillance, Ethel Maciel.
Subsequently, the campaign was promised for April and, now, it should only start in May. According to Ethel, the purchase ended up suffering delays after a legal impasse involving the companies in dispute in the auction. According to her, the department began an emergency purchase process in December, when the updated Pfizer vaccine was approved by the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa).
In March, however, Moderna’s vaccine updated for the XBB.1.5 strain also received the agency’s approval, entered the dispute and won the auction. After that, according to the secretary, Pfizer questioned the result, which led to a legal dispute that should end this Thursday, the 18th, when the result of the bidding is announced by the department.
Currently, the Ministry of Health has only 1.5 million doses of the pediatric vaccine against Covid-19 in its stock for distribution, with no more doses of the vaccine for those over 12 years of age.
As a result, at least five states (out of nine that responded to the report’s questions) are already out of doses or say there is a risk of vaccination being interrupted due to low stocks.
Paraná says that its stocks are scarce and that “there is a risk of vaccination being halted”. The Paraná Health Department says it informed the ministry about the scenario on March 15.
Santa Catarina also claimed to be out of supply and said that the last shipment was received on March 8 and in a quantity lower than requested – only 40% of the doses requested. “On March 28, we placed a new order, however, so far, it has not been authorized and we have no forecast for regularization, as the stock in the State ended last week”, stated the Santa Catarina Department of Health regarding the Pfizer doses. bivalent. In the State, pediatric Pfizer has limited stock and only the stock of doses for babies has sufficient quantity.
São Paulo did not clarify whether there is already a shortage of doses in its stocks, but stated that, since February, the transfer of bivalent vaccines made by the ministry was lower than that requested by the State. According to the São Paulo State Department of Health, 400,000 doses of bivalent Pfizer were requested for people over 12 years of age, but no doses were received.
Maranhão says that its immunobiological storage and distribution center is already out of stock of bivalent vaccines for those over 12 years of age and the pediatric version for children aged 5 to 11 years. The State reported that only the Coronavac and Pfizer Baby vaccines are available for use – and with limited stock. The Maranhão Health Department said that it requested new doses from the ministry, but that, due to unavailability in the federal stock, “it was not possible to send them”
In Tocantins, the stock of pediatric vaccines is at zero and, although the department requested more doses of the bivalent vaccine on April 8, the ministry informed the State that the purchase process would need to be reopened “after analyzing the companies’ resources”. The State says that there is a possibility that immunization “will be compromised”.
Experts criticized the scenario and recalled that the updated vaccine against the XBB.1.5 strain has been available in other countries for months. In a letter addressed to the Ministry of Health and published on social media last Tuesday, the 16th, the “Which mask?” movement, which brings together public health experts, criticized the government’s delay in acquiring updated doses of the vaccine against Covid-19.
“Anvisa only approved its use in Brazil in December and, so far, we have no news about the start of vaccination, announced for March, then April and now with no forecast. Even when starting, the government is negotiating only 12.5 million of doses, which cover less than 6% of the country’s population”, says the text.
“The fault is that (the ministry) took too long to start the purchasing process. It should have anticipated these setbacks. There was a lack of planning,” said Julio Croda, an infectious disease specialist at Fiocruz, professor at the Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul (UFMS) and one of the signatories of the letter.
The ministry says the expectation is to sign the contract by Friday. According to the folder, after signature, the doses must be delivered within seven days. “We believe that these stocks will be reestablished in May, because we opened emergency (purchase) so that vaccination could begin in April, which we are now setting for May,” said Ethel.
The secretary defended herself from criticism about the lack of planning. “We depend on Anvisa’s approval, which happened in December. We started the purchase and it is happening now. From the Ministry of Health’s point of view, everything that could have been done to make the process as quick as possible was done,” he declared.
She also stated that, in addition to the process of purchasing 12.5 million doses under the emergency modality, the Ministry of Health opened a regular purchasing procedure to acquire around 70 million vaccines. This process, however, takes longer and usually takes around eight months.
Estadão sought out Pfizer and Moderna to comment on the topic, but did not receive a response until the publication of this text. The space remains open for demonstrations.
