São Paulo planning fourth dose rollout for all residents

Officials in São Paulo, Brazil’s wealthiest and most populous state, are considering launching a campaign to roll out fourth Covid vaccine shots to the general population. 

As things stand, the federal Health Ministry has only authorized states and municipalities to distribute fourth doses to immunosuppressed individuals. However, as authorities at the local and national levels have been in constant disagreement over vaccination policies, many states are pushing to follow their own immunization paths.

Despite its rousing success in administering first vaccine doses, Brazil has seen public uptake reduce at every round of new Covid-19 shots. In São Paulo, 2.2 million people have yet to take a second dose, while 10 million people eligible for boosters have yet to show up and receive them.

The country’s booster rollout remains way below those in Chile, Uruguay, Argentina, and even Peru, a country that faced successive hiccups in 2021 when trying to vaccinate its population.

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