Fiocruz surpasses Butantan as largest Covid vaccine supplier in Brazil

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – With the 5.9 million AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine doses delivered last Friday, May 28, and another 600,000 delivered today, May 31, the Rio de Janeiro based foundation has surpassed the Butantan’s mark.

Fiocruz (Oswaldo Cruz Foundation) has surpassed São Paulo’s Butantan Institute as the largest supplier of vaccines against Covid-19 in Brazil with this Monday’s delivery. A total of 47.6 million doses have been supplied by the foundation, compared to 47.2 million delivered by the São Paulo institute.

Both laboratories recently suspended their production lines, but they were restarted last week after deliveries of API (Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient) from China – the raw material is still to undergo several steps before being sent to the Ministry of Health.

The Butantan has not supplied Coronavac doses to the PNI (National Immunization Program) since May 14, when it transferred 1 million doses. The state government attributed the suspension to a delay in the release of raw material, due to an alleged diplomatic obstacle caused by the federal government.

On the other hand, Fiocruz suspended its operations for 5 days, stating that there had been an acceleration in the packaging process in the previous weeks and consequently the API had been exhausted earlier than expected. However, it did not suspend deliveries, which are always made on Fridays, as it had doses in the quality control stage.

With the 5.9 million AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine doses delivered last Friday and another 600,000 delivered this Monday, the foundation surpasses the Butantan’s mark. Considering the amount already administered to the population, however, Coronavac is still the majority: 63%, against 35% for AstraZeneca and 2% for Pfizer.

Fiocruz now guarantees weekly deliveries until July 3. In turn, the São Paulo institute is only expected to deliver its next batches in approximately 15 days, when the processing of the recently supplied raw material will be completed, enough for 5 million doses.

“The raw material sent by Sinovac biopharmaceutical company, partner of Butantan, will undergo bottling, labeling, packing and strict quality control processes before the vaccine is delivered to the PNI,” says the institution, whose production enabled the start of immunization against Covid-19 in Brazil, in January.

The institute says that it has now fulfilled the first contract signed with the Ministry of Health, for 46 million doses, and is currently working to reach the agreed total of 100 million. It intends to start production in December with its own raw material in a new plant.

Fiocruz’s goal is to deliver 112 million doses by the end of the third quarter, including imported doses, before starting its own production of another 110 million units by the end of the year.

In recent weeks, the foundation said that the delay in the delivery of API had no impact on its schedule, but the latest Ministry of Health forecast shows a reduction in the amount of vaccines expected for June – from 34.2 million to 20.9 million doses.

The portfolio’s executive secretary Rodrigo Cruz said on Wednesday, May 26, in a Chamber of Deputies hearing that the reduction occurred due to a shortage of raw material. “When we received confirmation that production would not be feasible, we reduced our schedule,” he said, adding that the Ministry is trying to anticipate API batches to reverse the shortfall.

Fiocruz says it is waiting for this opportunity to report on the next deliveries. “With our production capacity, should the next batch be delivered in early June, we will be able to increase deliveries for the month,” it said in a statement.

Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga also ascribed the issue to the challenge in sourcing raw materials and vaccines at a “global level.” “It is not about lack of money, it is about problems with raw materials,” he said at the time. “The private sector itself has realized that it is not easy to acquire vaccines abroad,” he said.

With this and other adjustments, the Ministry reduced the total vaccine forecast for June by 16%. From 52.2 million doses, the quantity has been reduced to 43.8 million. By Monday, May 31, 45 million Brazilians had been vaccinated with the first dose, the equivalent to 28% of the adult population.

SCHEDULE PROVIDED BY THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH ON MAY 25

AstraZeneca/Oxford –
Delivered by the end of May: 47.6 million
June: 20 million
3rd quarter: 36.9 million + 8 million imported
4th quarter: 110 million
Total: 222.5 million

Coronavac –
Delivered by the end of May: 47.2 million
June: 6 million
3rd quarter: 46.8 million
4th quarter: 30 million
Total: 130 million

Pfizer –
Delivered by the end of May: 3.5 million
June: 12 million
3rd quarter: 84.5 million
4th quarter: 100 million
Total: 200 million