COVID-19 has killed more Brazil kids than 14 diseases did in 10 years

Since March 2020, when COVID-19 began spreading in Brazil, the disease has caused the deaths of 539 children between the ages of six months and three years. The amount, reported just two years into the pandemic, is more than three times the death toll of 14 other diseases combined over a period of ten years.

Between 2012 and 2021, the 14 diseases—among them neonatal tetanus, diphtheria, pertussis, measles, rubella, and type-B meningococcal meningitis—have claimed the lives of 144 children aged six months to three years. Even though these illnesses can kill, all of them can be prevented by vaccines.

The survey was released Monday (Jul 25) and was conducted by scientists from the Children’s Health Observatory at Brazil’s research foundation Fiocruz. The specialists based their comparison on data from a platform developed by the Ministry of Health.

The 14 diseases are listed under Brazil’s List of Avoidable Deaths for children under five, compiled by child health specialists supervised by the Health Ministry. Some of these illnesses have not caused any infant death in the last ten years. A case in point is polio, eradicated in the country in 1994.

Unlike the 14 diseases, no inoculation against COVID-19 has been approved for this age group. Two weeks ago, Brazil’s national drug authority Anvisa authorized the use of the CoronaVac shot in children between three and five years old. Those older than five had already been covered by the country’s national immunization plan since January.