RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The city of São Paulo will start administering the third vaccine dose against Covid-19 in people over 70 on Monday, September 27.
Mayor Ricardo Nunes also announced the advance of the Pfizer vaccine 2nd dose from 12 to 8 weeks from Friday, September 24, for people aged 28 to 41 who have already taken the 1st shot. As for the other vaccines, the interval for the 2nd dose is still 12 weeks for AstraZeneca and 28 days for Coronavac.
People over 18 with a high degree of immunosuppression who have been vaccinated with the 2nd dose, or the single dose, for at least 28 days – with the exception of pregnant women and women who have recently given birth – are also eligible for the booster dose.
Seniors over 80 who have already been immunized with 2 vaccine doses, at least 6 months ago, are also eligible to take the 3rd dose against the coronavirus in the city, according to the City Hall.
Bringing forward vaccination was a reason for celebration for systems analyst Leonardo Silva Jorge, 30. He found no line to be vaccinated at UBS Humaitá, in Bela Vista, downtown São Paulo, on Friday. He believes that vaccination should not be seen only as a personal victory, but rather as a collective one.
“It helps prevent spreading the disease,” he said. “The vaccine issue is not only for you, it is for the whole population,” the analyst added. Despite being immunized with the 2nd dose, he said he will continue to follow Covid-19 prevention guidelines.
Women who have recently given birth, as well as pregnant women, can only be immunized in the city with Coronavac or Pfizer doses, according to the Municipal Health Secretariat. Administration is performed in Basic Health Units.
“At the moment the vaccination with an additional dose for pregnant and postpartum women is not being performed,” the municipal Health Secretariat says in a statement.
According to the Vaccinometer, a state government system that updates vaccine doses administered in real time throughout the state of São Paulo, 17,420,510 Covid-19 vaccine doses have been administered so far in the capital city, of which 10,317,182 were 1st doses, 6,682,910 2nd doses, in addition to 97,768 booster doses.