Brazilian government suspends contract negotiations for Indian Covaxin vaccine

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Ministry of Health suspended negotiations to purchase the Indian vaccine Covaxin, which has become the focus of corruption allegations against the Jair Bolsonaro government.

The measure follows the guidelines of the Comptroller General of the Union (CGU) and is “preventive” in nature, informed the Ministers of Health, Marcelo Queiroga, and the head of the CGU, Wagner Rosario, in a press conference at Planalto Palace

“On the instructions of the CGU, we have decided to suspend the Covaxin contract,” Queiroga said.

The health minister told the press conference that the suspension will not affect the federal government’s vaccination plan against Covid-19 because the vaccine has not yet been approved by health regulator ANVISA. “At this point, we do not anticipate the arrival of this vaccine, it was already off the schedule because it did not have approval from ANVISA,” he said.

An audit of CGU technicians, along with officials from the Ministry of Health, is expected to ensure that all irregularities, including those that have not yet been identified, come to light. “The suspension will last exactly as long as the investigation.”

The audit will serve as the basis for the Ministry of Health’s decision to buy or not buy Covaxin.

“The decision to buy or not is up to the ministry. We will review the process to give maximum assurance so the Ministry of Health can make the decision,” Wagner Rosario said. “This is an internal technical task of the government.”

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