The Ministry of Health anticipated vaccination against covid-19 for education workers. In addition, the Pasta authorizes the immunization of the general population in decreasing order of age, after completion of the vaccination of the most vulnerable priority groups and education workers.

The ministry will begin sending doses to the states, in a staggered manner, to serve this public, along with other priority groups defined by the National Plan for the Operationalization of Vaccination against Covid-19 (PNO).

The motivation for prioritizing education workers is due to the social impacts caused by covid-19 with the need to go back to face-to-face classes. Nurseries and schools contribute not only to the education of thousands of Brazilians, but also to ensure children’s food security.

In the case of education workers, the guideline is to follow this order of priority: daycare centers, pre-schools, elementary school, high school, vocational and Youth and Adult Education and, subsequently, higher education workers.

“We had several discussions regarding the reorganization of the PNO, with some reports from states and municipalities having, at this moment, reduced demand. We cannot store the vaccine. So, we decided to make this action a little more flexible in order to speed up the vaccination of priority groups”, stated the executive secretary of the Ministry of Health, Rodrigo Cruz, during a press conference on the theme this Friday (28).

In addition to the priority groups, including education workers, the Ministry of Health also authorizes the vaccination of the general population, aged 18 to 59, in parallel. To start vaccinating the general population, the situation in each location will have to be checked.

As soon as the vaccination of the most vulnerable groups (people with comorbidities and pregnant women and puerperal women with comorbidities, people with permanent disabilities, people on the street, employees of the Deprivation System of Liberty and people deprived of their liberty) and education workers is completed, it is It is possible to start vaccination by age group, as long as the vaccination of the remaining priority groups is maintained and fulfilled, according to the order established by the PNO.

“The PNI will serve the segment in continuity with the PNO, and will also allocate a percentage by age group, starting from the oldest to the youngest age group. Because the older the age group, the greater the risk of complications and death. As a result, the same criteria used to define priority groups are followed” said the general coordinator of the National Immunization Program (PNI), Francieli Fontana.

The recommendations were agreed upon by the Tripartite Interagency Commission (CIT), held this Thursday (May 27), with representatives from the Ministry of Health, states and municipalities. The guidelines are also in a  technical note from the National Immunization Program (PNI) .

Marina Pagno
Ministry of Health