As Brazil agency approves COVID vaccine for kids, Bolsonaro wants to publish regulators' names for public "judgements"

Brasília — Brazil's health regulator approved the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday for use in children aged five to 11, joining a growing list of countries green-lighting vaccination for kids. It wasn't clear when, or if, the hard-hit South American country might actually begin vaccinating children, however, as its anti-vaccine president said he wanted to name the regulators behind the decision publicly, weeks after they received death threats.

The matter now passes to the health ministry, which will have to decide whether to add COVID-19 vaccines for five- to 11-year-olds to the national immunization program and acquire child-size doses — one-third the adult dose.

"Collective vaccination reduces transmission of SARS-CoV-2 for this age group, and as a result, reduces transmission from children and adolescents to adults and the elderly," said Meiruze Freitas, director of Brazilian health regulator Anvisa, announcing the decision.