RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Since April 28, Jair Bolsonaro’s government has had on the table a proposal for the immediate delivery of 100 million Covishield vaccine doses, but is reluctant to define whether or not to buy the supply.
The product is manufactured by the Serum Institute laboratory and has a Brazilian partnership with the Vital Brasil Institute. The vaccine is known in Brazil and was distributed among the first batches in the campaign against the coronavirus. There were 4 million doses authorized by the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency (ANVISA) and administered by the National Immunization Program, in substitution of AstraZeneca batches.
A government spokesperson says that Minister Marcelo Queiroga’s team met with laboratory representatives last Friday to discuss the purchase, but so far nothing has been decided by the portfolio. With no reply from the Ministry of Health, the deadline to secure the doses ends next Friday. The laboratory is committed to deliver the doses in July to supply the shortage.
With this purchase, the vaccination schedule would be advanced by 3 months and Brazil would rank 1st in the world in number of people vaccinated.
In addition to preventing deaths, the measure could expedite economic recovery and reduce spending on emergency aid.