It’s strange and not what you would expect at a vaccination appointment: These Brazilians don’t have to open their upper arm, but rather pull their pants down.
It’s finally here: the vaccination appointment! It is common for vaccinations to be injected into the upper arm. In this country, the vaccination campaign used the slogan “Sleeves up” to advertise the corona vaccination. For this purpose, clothing should be worn as loosely as possible, in which the upper arm is exposed or can be exposed quickly.
This is what Stela Schwenker assumed, as reported by the Washington Post. But the Brazilian did not get the long-awaited injection in the upper arm, the doctor’s assistant asked her to clear the bottom for the corona vaccination.
Syringe in the buttocks
“The nurse said, ‘The syringe is in your butt,’ and I said, ‘My God,'” the 26-year-old told the Washington Post. Finally, she pulled up her sleeveless dress to receive the vaccine, but she had wondered why apparently everyone got the syringe in their arms, but it got in their buttocks.
But Stela Schwenker is not the only one. An editorial assistant tweeted: “I didn’t understand why almost no one in Joinville posted photos of the vaccination. Until I found out that almost everyone (including me) had the vaccine in their buttocks.” The tweet went viral.
A whole city on a special course
The city of Joinville is located in southern Brazil. With almost 600,000 inhabitants, it is the largest city in the state of Santa Catarina. German traditions from the colonial era are still celebrated here today – for example, a festival with dance, music and beer in October. Now the city has decided on something special: Instead of giving its residents vaccinations in the arms, the corona vaccine should develop its effect from the back of the people.
From a technical point of view, however, the vaccine does not end up in the bottom itself – as you can read everywhere – but in the area directly above it. The so-called ventrogluteal injection according to Hochstetter is carried out about one or two centimeters below the waistband. According to the officials, the residents of Joinville have been receiving their vaccinations for a long time.
Less pain
The city spokesman Thiago Boeing explains to the Washington post that the other area for the injection has no effect on the safety or effectiveness of the vaccine. The technology has become rare, but it is still technically correct and not an error.
He quoted the National Health Department’s vaccination protocol for intramuscular vaccines, which include coronavirus vaccinations, according to the Washington Post. It highlighted ventrogluteal vaccination as one of the “best options” for “alternative administration” of vaccines, as it caused less pain to use. But few other Brazilian cities would have taken up this Ministry of Health option.
The vaccinations in the upper buttocks are not mandatory. As the “Washington Post” quotes city spokesman Boeing, health workers are urged to inform patients that they can also receive the vaccination in the upper arm.
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