From June 6, anyone aged 50 or over and health workers aged 18 and over in São Paulo City can get their 4th COVID vaccination. You can get your 4th vaccination once 4 months have passed since your 3rd vaccination. And I too recently had my 4th vaccination!
A little before that, on May 30, 3rd vaccinations started for anyone aged 12 to 17.
Vaccinations became available for the 5- to 11-year age group on December 16 last year. Being the Pfizer vaccine, the dosage is smaller, so the doses are distributed with orange lids, making it easier for nurses and parents/guardians to identify them. According to São Paulo State figures from June 13, 84.7% of 5- to 11-year-olds have had their 1st vaccination, and 61.93% have had their 2nd.
The authorities dropped the requirement to wear a mask except in health facilities and on public transports on March 17. In the 1st week, most people were still wearing a mask, even on the streets, but gradually more people have been leaving them off. Most restaurants are full on Fridays and weekends, people seem to be happily chatting and laughing the way Brazilians do, apparently having forgotten that the pandemic is still ongoing. Of course, I still don’t want to eat out, and I just don’t seem to be able to leave my mask off in my everyday life.
Around the start of May, I heard that some of my friends, and their friends too had caught COVID. When you feel unwell and develop symptoms that you think might mean COVID, you buy antigen testing kits at a chemist and test yourselves. In the past, people were having PCR tests at health facilities, but the concern has emerged that it hasn’t been possible to confirm with certainty the numbers of people with positive results, because they are buying a test kit at a chemist, not going through a health facility. At the end of May, there were news reports that the Ministry of Health was advising people to wear a mask indoors. And then, while the number of cases was going up, they were increasing the number of beds at emergency hospitals.
Here are the 4 main reasons for the increase in cases.
１．There are a number of mutant strains including Delta and Omicron, so having caught one of them doesn’t mean you’re safe.
２．People started holding ceremonies and events at function centers and the requirement to wear a mask was dropped.
３．The cooler weather has meant being indoors more.
４．Some people haven’t had all their COVID vaccinations.
Apparently, people who have had their 3rd vaccination are at considerably less risk of serious illness or death. On a personal note, an unvaccinated acquaintance of mine contracted COVID at the start of this year and passed away. She said she would never have the vaccine, so I feel remorse, I should have convinced her to have the vaccine from the start.
My parents-in-law are over 90, they got their 4th vaccination and several months later caught COVID. They felt tired and had a cough, and it was really tough for 5 days, but they recovered OK. I really do think that was thanks to the vaccination.
We don’t seem to be over the pandemic yet. Let’s all keep on being careful.
