The bivalent vaccine against covid-19 begins to be applied today (27) across the country. According to the Ministry of Health, the vaccine improves immunity against the original strain virus and also against the Ômicron variant and has a safety and efficacy profile similar to that of monovalent vaccines.
“The monovalent vaccine, as the name implies, has only one type of virus that causes covid. It was originally designed with that so-called ancestral virus, the first to appear in China at the end of 2019. So, all the vaccines that we had and used so far were monovalent, regardless of the manufacturing laboratory”, explained the director of the Brazilian Society of Immunizations, Juarez Cunha.
Initially, the vaccine will be applied only to so-called risk groups. According to the division announced by the ministry, immunization will be carried out as follows: in phase 1, people over 70 years old, immunocompromised, indigenous, riverside and quilombola; in phase 2, people aged between 60 and 69 years; in phase 3, pregnant and postpartum women; and in phase 4, health professionals.
“These populations, of what we have in these three years of the pandemic, are the people who have suffered the most and are suffering the most from the disease. It is important to have a plan because there is not enough vaccine to include the entire population with the bivalent vaccine. The trend is that, over time, we will increase the groups that will receive.”
In Brazil, two bivalent vaccines, both produced by the Pfizer laboratory, received authorization from the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) for emergency use. They are indicated as a single booster dose for children and adults, two months after completion of the primary vaccination schedule, or as the last booster dose.
“Who is bivalent recommended for? Just as reinforcement. For people who have been fully vaccinated with the primary schedule, which are usually two doses or a single dose. Even for those who have already had their third and fourth doses, two boosters,” said Juarez. “These people who already have this vaccination, as long as four months have passed since the last dose, can receive the bivalent.”
The ministry reinforces that monovalent vaccines against covid-19 are still available in basic health units (UBS) for the general population and are classified as “highly effective against the disease”, guaranteeing a high degree of immunity and avoiding mild and severe cases. and deaths from the disease.
“The application of the bivalent does not mean that the monovalent vaccines do not continue to protect. They continue to protect, even for the Ômicron variant, but, of course, with the possibility of a vaccine designed more specifically for the circulating variant, the tendency is for us to have a better response.”
*In collaboration with Priscilla Mazenotti, from National Radio.
