The municipality of Botucatu, in the interior of São Paulo, has already started to apply the second booster dose against covid-19 in people between 50 and 59 years old.
According to the prefecture, vaccination for this group is necessary because of the increase in transmission of the new coronavirus, which has been observed in recent weeks. In the epidemiological week ended on May 21, 1,023 cases of covid-19 were found in the city, a number 13 times higher than what was observed in April. In addition, the additional dose helps to strengthen the vaccine’s protection, which tends to decrease over the months.
The second booster dose for this age group began to be applied last Saturday (28), when 2,763 people between 50 and 59 years old attended health centers to get the vaccine. Now the campaign continues in the city’s health units, from 8 am to 17 pm. The vaccine is also being administered at night, from 18:00 to 22:00, at the School Health Center in Vila dos Lavradores. The fourth dose will also be applied to the public over 18 years of age with comorbidities.
In Botucatu, to take the additional dose, the person must have received the third dose at least four months ago. If you have recently tested positive for covid-19, the person needs to wait 30 days to get vaccinated. For this vaccination, immunizers from Janssen, Pfizer/BioNTech and AstraZeneca/Oxford/Fiocruz are being used.
Last year, the adult population of Botucatu was part of a effectiveness study of the Oxford/AstraZeneca/Fiocruz vaccine. One month after starting the mass vaccination of its population, the studies already showed 71% reduction in cases of covid-19 in the municipality.
other vaccines
In addition to the application of the fourth dose in the age group from 50 to 59 years, the health posts of Botucatu are applying vaccines against Influenza and measles.
The flu vaccine is available to the general population. The measles vaccine (triple viral) is available for health professionals and children aged 6 months to under 5 years.
