Coronavirus

Cities in São Paulo interrupt booster doses

booster shots são paulo
Vaccination line in São Paulo. Photo: Nelson Antoine/Shutterstock

At least eight cities in São Paulo have stopped administering Covid-19 vaccine booster doses to senior citizens. Municipal governments blamed the interruption on the impasse between the São Paulo state government Health Ministry regarding which vaccine should be used for booster jabs.

The Health Ministry maintains that people over 70 years old should preferably be vaccinated with the Pfizer immunizer, which can also be replaced by doses of AstraZeneca or Janssen. 

Nevertheless, the state of São Paulo, contrary to the recommendation, jumped the gun on third doses and is giving out CoronaVac as a booster jab. 

The measure is criticized by experts who point out that the Chinese-made vaccine is less effective among senior citizens.