Brazil Begins Vaccinating Young Children despite Bolsonaro Objection

Brazil began vaccinating children aged five to 11 against Covid-19 on Friday after the move was approved, despite objections from President Jair Bolsonaro, reports AFP.

Davi Seremramiwe Xavante, an Indigenous eight-year-old boy, was the first child to be vaccinated during an official ceremony at a Sao Paulo hospital, with the state governor Joao Doria in attendance.

The first Covid vaccine dose administered in Brazil was also in Sao Paulo, in January 2021.

The new age group was approved for vaccination by Anvisa health authorities a month ago.

More than 20 million children are eligible for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, as long as they have parental consent.

Indigenous people and children with health problems are priority groups for vaccination.