Brazil minister: H3N2 flu shots to arrive in March

The vaccines against the new variant of the influenza virus, dubbed H3N2, are expected to come to Brazil in March. The announcement was made by Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga during a press conference on the inclusion of children under the country’s national immunization plan against COVID-19.

“We still do not have those shots in particular. They should arrive late in the first quarter of the year. The WHO names the strain, and the vaccine must be produced,” the minister pointed out.

The staff at the ministry, he said, has been monitoring the cases to assess the impact. The same goes for flurona—a term used for a simultaneous coronavirus and H3N2 infection.

On his Twitter account, the ministry’s Executive Secretary Rodrigo Cruz talked about the circulation of the variant and confirmed that H3N2 cases have been reported in a number of states.

“This is why we recommend that all precautions linked to health care should be made a priority,” Cruz argued. “Wearing masks and keeping one’s hands clean are still of the utmost importance,” he added.