The National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) authorized the use of Covid-19 self-tests in Brazil, last Friday (28). The authorization of the agency allows the commercialization of the tests in pharmacies and health establishments. And children, as well as adults, can be tested.
Ana Escobar, pediatrician and professor at FMUSP (School of Medicine at the University of São Paulo), in an interview with CNN, says that children hardly develop the severe form of Covid-19, “but they can transmit it like anyone else”.
And testing, according to the specialist, helps to identify the disease and, at the same time, preserve the community and family members.
vaccinate children
The pediatrician also says that it is not necessary to have a medical prescription for vaccination. “We never required a doctor’s order to do so, and we must continue the tradition of vaccinating children.”
For Ana, parents need to understand the responsibility of not vaccinating their children. More than 10 million children have been vaccinated worldwide.
She also warns that, despite the coronavirus vaccine not being part of the National Immunization Program, “the immunizer is already recognized by all authorities as necessary for health safety; so parents should vaccinate their children.”
It is worth noting that there are two immunizers available for most of this age group: the pharmaceutical Pfizer and the Coronavac, from the Butantan Institute.
Children aged 5 years and immunosuppressed aged 5 to 11 years can only receive the immunizer from Pfizer, while the others can also be protected by Coronavac.
Take the kids to school
The government of the state of São Paulo published in the Official Gazette last Saturday (29) a resolution that makes it mandatory to present proof of complete vaccination against Covid-19 or a certificate that shows contraindication in the second quarter of 2022 in state schools.
And the pediatrician sees the measure as positive “because it is a duty of parents and a right of children to receive the vaccine”.
“The lack of school in people’s lives is devastating”, says the pediatrician. “That way, even if some kids haven’t had their first dose yet, it’s safe to take the kids to study in person, as staff and classmates will be immunized.”
Source: CNN Brasil
