Brazil: Delay in second dose of vaccine against COVID-19 stands at 11%

The Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), linked to the Health Ministry (Sep. 29), published today its VigiVac report, monitoring the progress of Brazil’s vaccination scheme against COVID-19, developed under the country’s National Immunization Program.

The first results, based on data made public by September 15, show that the country’s rate of delay for all vaccines stands at 11 percent—15 percent for AstraZeneca, 33 percent for CoronaVac, and one percent for Pfizer-BioNTech. Fiocruz points out, however, that the vaccination with Pfizer did not start until May, and that the amount of individuals with a possible delay is still low.

For AstraZeneca and Pfizer, an 84-day interval was considered for the second dose; for CoronaVac, 28 days. The dashboard takes into account individuals that received the first dose but not the second, and a delay is seen as such 14 days after the date scheduled for the second shot.

In absolute numbers, São Paulo has 1.25 million people who took the first dose and did not return for the second. Rio de Janeiro has 956.9 thousand and Bahia 907.5 thousand who did not return to health centers. The lowest numbers are seen in Roraima (21.5 thousand), Acre (28.3 thousand), and Amapá (31.1 thousand).

According to Fiocruz, “the goal of the dashboard is to support public decision makers and identify municipalities who need support in speeding up the second shot of the vaccine.”