University of São Paulo: “Vaccinating yourself is not just an act of caring for your own health, but a sanitary duty”, affirm rectors of São Paulo state publics
The Council of Rectors of São Paulo State Universities (Cruesp), with a view to approving the emergency use of the CoronaVac (Sinovac / Instituto Butantan) and ChAdOx1 (AztraZeneca / Fiocruz) vaccines, goes public to exalt the victory of science in the protection of life. The available results attest that both vaccines provide relevant protection against moderate to severe forms of covid-19 and sufficient immunogenicity to slow transmission and thus stem the advance of the pandemic.
In addition, vaccines have proven to be safe, with side effects rare and not serious. Finally, the feasibility of maintaining it at temperatures from 2ºC to 8ºC favors distribution logistics, allowing the vaccination of populations in the most remote areas of Brazil. The research, carried out by hundreds of scientists inside public universities and research institutes, has shown a solid path in response to the worst public health emergency reported in more than a century.
The availability of vaccines is, however, only the first step. There is still a long way to go. In addition to the fundamental issues related to the availability of the vaccine and syringes, distribution logistics and the organization of priority groups, it is necessary to adhere to vaccination in order to obtain a population immunization. Only with a considerable number of people vaccinated can the circulation of the new coronavirus be interrupted, ensuring protection for the population as a whole.
Vaccinating yourself is not just an act of caring for your own health, but a sanitary duty towards everyone.
Until population protection is ensured, we reaffirm the need for sanitary measures to contain the spread of covid-19, including restricted mobility and agglomerations, hand hygiene and the use of masks. These measures are supported by results of robust scientific studies and are necessary during the pandemic, even after vaccination.
In the manifestations of its Collegiate Board, Anvisa punctuated another historical position, stating clearly and unquestionably that there is still no proven effective therapy against covid-19. More than a detail, this is a regulatory and legal framework, which brings to light aspects widely publicized by researchers. Fanciful cures propagated to reinforce political-ideological and denialist positions were publicly denied by the country’s drug regulatory agency.
The São Paulo State Universities, the scene of several studies that identified and pointed out directions for facing the pandemic, reiterate their commitment to science, a pillar of democracy and human development. Thus, USP, Unesp and Unicamp, which through their health care units, members of the SUS, have worked tirelessly in assisting victims of covid-19, once again, make their hospitals available for this new and urgent contract, vaccination.