PAHO supports the Uruguayan Ministry of Health in a court ruling vax — MercoPress

PAHO supports the Uruguayan Ministry of Health in a judicial decision vax

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has sent a letter of support to Uruguay’s Minister of Health, Daniel Salinas, after a judge ordered a halt to all vaccination of children under 13 against COVID- 19 in the country.

The letter, signed by PAHO Director Carissa Etienne, whom Salinas hopes to succeed, reads:

“We understand that the Ministry of Health for which you are responsible has decided to comply with the court’s decision and will encourage the appeal of the sentence. From this moment, we offer you, if you deem it useful, the support you need from PAHO/WHO in building the necessary arguments,” the letter reads.

The note also points out that the vaccine from the American laboratory Pfizer, which was applied to minors in Uruguay, is “safe and effective for all people over the age of 5”.

“Failure to use safe and effective vaccines in children can generate profound inequality and deprivation of the human right to health,” the letter further explains while insisting that vaccines “save lives” and are, after drinking water, “the tool that has contributed the most to the prevention of serious and fatal diseases, especially in young children.

The Uruguayan government on Monday filed an appeal against Judge Alejandro Recarey’s decision that forced the suspension of the COVID-19 vaccination until a series of requirements set out by the magistrate are met.

The judge ordered the Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) and the presidency to fully disclose all contracts for the purchase of vaccines administered nationally, whether they come from the Chinese laboratory Sinovac, the Anglo-Swedish company AstraZeneca and US pharmaceutical supplier Pfizer.

Recarey also asked that a warning text be given to adults responsible for minors to be vaccinated, mentioning “clearly” “the composition” of the vaccines and “the risks involved”.

Salinas said in a television interview that he considered it appropriate to inform international organizations of the current vaccination situation in Uruguay. Hence Etienne’s response highlighting the recommendations of the World Health Organization’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization which states that the Pfizer-BioNTech messenger RNA vaccine is “safe and effective for all people of more than 5 years”.

Etienne further argued that “the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has been included in the WHO Emergency Use List, a risk-based procedure for evaluating and listing vaccines, therapies and in vitro diagnostics not licensed with the ultimate goal of accelerating the availability of these products to people. affected by a public health emergency such as the one that is still ongoing”, which “allows PAHO/WHO Member States and their national regulatory agencies to formulate their sovereign health policies and can expedite the authorization to import and administer vaccines against COVID-19”.

“The right to health is undoubtedly essential to the well-being and wealth of nations, which is protected by international treaties to which Uruguay is a party,” she added. “Scientific evidence overwhelmingly supports this claim.”