Brazil to give COVID-19 booster shots to people over 60 years old

By Staff Editor On In Regional News |
FILE PHOTO: People wait outside a vaccination station before its opening, to receive a dose of the Sinovac’s CoronaVac coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine, during a vaccination day for 71-year-old and older citizens in Belford Roxo near Rio de Janeiro, Brazil March 31, 2021. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes
FILE PHOTO: People wait outside a vaccination station before its opening, to receive a dose of the Sinovac’s CoronaVac coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine, during a vaccination day for 71-year-old and older citizens in Belford Roxo near Rio de Janeiro, Brazil March 31, 2021. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes

SAO PAULO,  (Reuters) – Brazil will provide COVID-19 vaccine booster shots to all its people over 60-years-old, Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga said today.

Queiroga said in a tweet that the decision comes in line with progress in the country’s vaccination program. About 7 million Brazilians could get the booster shot under these conditions, he said.

Brazil had already started giving booster shots to people over 70-years-old and healthcare workers. According to Health Ministry data, about 600,000 booster shots have been administered up to now.

Roughly 52% of the country’s adult population is fully vaccinated with two doses or a single-dose vaccine.

Nearly 595,000 Brazilians have died from the coronavirus, according to World Health Organization figures.