Pfizer, Coronavac or AstraZeneca, he had it all, or almost. A resident of Rio de Janeiro will have to explain to health authorities how he managed to receive five doses of the COVID-19 vaccine in ten weeks.
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The municipality of Rio said in a letter to Agence France-Presse on Friday that the health authorities will continue with the pentavalent vaccination until he “explains” how he was able to receive these injections in several vaccination centers.
Between May 12 and July 21, the man received two doses of the Pfizer vaccine, two of CoronaVac and one of AstraZeneca, according to TV Globo, which was able to see the digital vaccination record of this resident of the area west of Rio. It was occasionally vaccinated in two doses 13 days apart.
He was discovered when he tried to get a sixth dose on August 16.
The municipality explained that the man visited three different vaccination centers and took advantage of computer malfunctions, according to the G1 news website.
For its part, the Health Secretariat said that it had been able to “identify this man in his records” and that he would take “the necessary measures.”
In order to be vaccinated, Brazilians must be in the age group matching the stated schedule, and present an ID and certificate of first-dose injection before receiving the second. Vaccination centers do not offer a choice between different vaccines.
The city of Rio has been severely affected by the coronavirus, forcing it to suspend the vaccination of its residents several times due to a shortage of vaccines.
But hundreds of fraud cases have been reported, with people running vaccination centers in states such as Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro or Minas Gerais to receive the vaccine of their choice or a third dose.
Brazil is the second deadliest country after the United States with more than 570,000 deaths due to COVID-19. But in Brazil, unlike many other countries, the commitment of the population to vaccination is very high.