Queiroga says return to classes shouldn’t depend on vaccination

Brazil’s Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga said this afternoon that the return of in-person classes in schools should not be affected by pupils’ vaccination status — contradicting the consensus among the country’s leading health experts. 

According to Mr. Queiroga, distance learning “already harmed our children in 2020 and 2021,” and making vaccination a prerequisite to returning to classes would mean “harming them again.” 

The statement comes a few days after Brazil’s health regulator Anvisa greenlit the use of Pfizer vaccines on children aged 5 to 11. According to new studies, more than 300 children died due to coronavirus complications in 2021, and the total could reach 800. 

As previously reported, school reopenings could boost Covid-19 infections, especially as the Omicron variant continues its spread. Nevertheless, the federal government remains skeptical about the importance of immunizing children.

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