The Santa Catarina State Department of Health (SES) announced this Friday (8) that booster doses of the bivalent Covid-19 vaccine are available. The ministry is recommending immunization of the population mainly due to the rising number of cases in the state. The recommendation is in line with the Ministry of Health (MS) guidelines.

Administration of the bivalent dose of Covid-19 in Santa Catarina – Photo: Cristiano Andújar/ND

This new booster dose of a bivalent vaccine is authorized for use in people 60 years of age and older and immunocompromised people over 12 years of age who received their last dose of a bivalent vaccine more than 6 months ago.

“It is important that everyone updates their vaccination schedule with the recommended doses for each age group. The available vaccines are effective against the variants circulating in the country, preventing severe symptoms and deaths,” emphasizes João Augusto Brancher Phuc, the state’s director of epidemiological surveillance.

Although Santa Catarina has already administered more than 16 million doses of vaccine against the disease, few have received the new booster shot. Only about 720,000 doses of the bivalent vaccine have been administered.

“People need to seek booster vaccinations, especially children and adolescents, who represent a population in which there is still a low percentage of people vaccinated against this disease,” emphasizes the director of epidemiological surveillance.

Rising Covid-19 cases

According to the latest epidemiological bulletin, more than 48 thousand cases of the disease have already been recorded in the UK this year. The state has seen a rise in Covid-19 cases since late October, reinforcing the importance of vaccination and non-drug control measures.

“Despite the improvement in the epidemiological situation regarding Covid-19, the disease has not ceased to exist. In 2023, we will still have nearly 50 thousand cases and 293 deaths. Therefore, preventive measures are still necessary and important, such as cough etiquette, the use of a mask by people with symptoms, testing and of course the vaccination of all people from 6 months of age,” reinforces Fabio Gaudenzi de Faria, Superintendent. health supervision.