<p>Brazilian health authorities authorized Covid-19 vaccines for children age five to 11 on Wednesday, as South America's most populous country faces a rapid increase in cases due to holiday gatherings and the arrival of the Omicron variant.</p>.<p>The final green light by Brazil's Ministry of Health comes three weeks after the nation's independent medicines regulator, Anvisa, declared Pfizer-BioNTech's child-size dose to be safe and effective.</p>.<p>"To all those parents who want to vaccinate their children, the Ministry of Health will guarantee doses of the (Covid) vaccine," said Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga in Brasilia.</p>.<p>Controversy abounded in Brazil until Wednesday's announcement, with many alleging an improper delay by the government.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/international/being-up-to-date-on-covid-vaccine-now-includes-a-booster-us-cdc-says-1068456.html" target="_blank">Being ‘up to date’ on Covid vaccine now includes a booster, US CDC says</a></strong></p>.<p>President Jair Bolsonaro, who did not get vaccinated and said he will not immunize his 11-year-old daughter Laura, asked weeks ago to publish the names of those responsible for Anvisa's decision, unleashing a wave of threats.</p>.<p>The final authorization comes amid a rising rate of infections in the country and a struggle to repair the health ministry's hacked Covid website.</p>.<p>Brazil's Health Ministry recorded 18,759 new cases in 24 hours in its latest data released Tuesday, the highest level since October 5.</p>.<p>The seven-day average also rose to 9,876 new cases, up from 5,033 the previous Tuesday, and 3,386 the week before that.</p>.<p>The rapidly increasing rate of new infections follows a trend seen in other nations where Omicron has taken hold.</p>.<p>"We will have growth of the Omicron variant here as in all the other countries," said Ethel Maciel, an epidemiologist with the Federal University of Espirito Santo.</p>.<p>"The Christmas and New Year holidays, and the Omicron variant contributed a lot," she explained.</p>.<p>But she also noted that Brazil "has a backlog of data due to a problem with the tracking system," meaning the site is currently being updated which inflates the number of cases.</p>.<p>The issue stems from a cyberattack last month that disabled the government's website for tracking infections and deaths, while allowing hackers to steal personal data and delete citizens' health passes.</p>.<p>Authorities in Rio de Janeiro, wary of Omicron's increasing impact, on Tuesday announced the cancelation of next month's carnival street celebrations.</p>.<p>After the United States, Brazil has the second highest number of deaths due to Covid with around 620,000 since the global pandemic began. </p>.<p><strong>Check out DH's latest videos</strong></p>
<p>Brazilian health authorities authorized Covid-19 vaccines for children age five to 11 on Wednesday, as South America's most populous country faces a rapid increase in cases due to holiday gatherings and the arrival of the Omicron variant.</p>.<p>The final green light by Brazil's Ministry of Health comes three weeks after the nation's independent medicines regulator, Anvisa, declared Pfizer-BioNTech's child-size dose to be safe and effective.</p>.<p>"To all those parents who want to vaccinate their children, the Ministry of Health will guarantee doses of the (Covid) vaccine," said Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga in Brasilia.</p>.<p>Controversy abounded in Brazil until Wednesday's announcement, with many alleging an improper delay by the government.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/international/being-up-to-date-on-covid-vaccine-now-includes-a-booster-us-cdc-says-1068456.html" target="_blank">Being ‘up to date’ on Covid vaccine now includes a booster, US CDC says</a></strong></p>.<p>President Jair Bolsonaro, who did not get vaccinated and said he will not immunize his 11-year-old daughter Laura, asked weeks ago to publish the names of those responsible for Anvisa's decision, unleashing a wave of threats.</p>.<p>The final authorization comes amid a rising rate of infections in the country and a struggle to repair the health ministry's hacked Covid website.</p>.<p>Brazil's Health Ministry recorded 18,759 new cases in 24 hours in its latest data released Tuesday, the highest level since October 5.</p>.<p>The seven-day average also rose to 9,876 new cases, up from 5,033 the previous Tuesday, and 3,386 the week before that.</p>.<p>The rapidly increasing rate of new infections follows a trend seen in other nations where Omicron has taken hold.</p>.<p>"We will have growth of the Omicron variant here as in all the other countries," said Ethel Maciel, an epidemiologist with the Federal University of Espirito Santo.</p>.<p>"The Christmas and New Year holidays, and the Omicron variant contributed a lot," she explained.</p>.<p>But she also noted that Brazil "has a backlog of data due to a problem with the tracking system," meaning the site is currently being updated which inflates the number of cases.</p>.<p>The issue stems from a cyberattack last month that disabled the government's website for tracking infections and deaths, while allowing hackers to steal personal data and delete citizens' health passes.</p>.<p>Authorities in Rio de Janeiro, wary of Omicron's increasing impact, on Tuesday announced the cancelation of next month's carnival street celebrations.</p>.<p>After the United States, Brazil has the second highest number of deaths due to Covid with around 620,000 since the global pandemic began. </p>.<p><strong>Check out DH's latest videos</strong></p>