RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Ministry of Health will start distributing another batch of 1.12 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine from Pfizer/BioNTech as of Monday, May 10th.
The doses are intended for administration in people with comorbidities, pregnant and postpartum women, and permanently disabled individuals.
According to the Ministry, all states and the Federal District will be proportionally and equally provided with the vaccine. Last week, the federal government distributed the first batch of Pfizer vaccine with 1 million doses.
According to the Ministry of Health, the logistics for distributing Pfizer’s vaccines were prepared taking into account the vaccine’s storage conditions. In the Ministry’s Distribution Center, in Guarulhos, doses are stored at a temperature of between -90°C to -60°C.
When sent to the states, the vaccines will be exposed to a temperature of -20°C. In vaccination rooms, where refrigeration ranges from +2 to +8°C, the doses must be administered within five days.
“Accordingly, the Ministry of Health advises that, at this time, vaccination with Pfizer’s immunizer should be performed only in health units of the 27 Brazilian state capitals, in order to prevent losing vaccines and ensure the administration of the first and second doses with a 12-week interval between them,” the Ministry said.
Vaccination against Covid-19 began in the country on January 18th. So far, including this new batch, approximately 75.4 million vaccine doses have been allocated to all states. By Sunday, May 9th, over 46.8 million doses had been administered.