Brazilian Ministry of Health expects to have at least 150 million doses of vaccines against Covid-19 available in the first half of 2021, with a third or more coming from a Chinese company, despite the president’s early skepticism.
Arnaldo Medeiros, a health ministry official, also told a congressional hearing on Tuesday that an initial deal to acquire 46 million doses of vaccine developed by China’s Sinovac Biotech could soon be expanded to 100 million.
The Government of the State of Sao Paulo Butantan Institute is expected to present data from the late-phase trial of the Sinovac vaccine, CoronaVac, on Wednesday, which has already started rolling off the fill-and-finish production line.
President Jair Bolsonaro had rejected that vaccine, doubting its ‘origin’ and trading barbs with the Governor of Sao Paulo João Doria, a political rival.
But the Department of Health has strived to safeguard supplies as the global rush for vaccines intensifies.
The federal government’s Fiocruz biomedical center is also expected to begin filling and finishing the AstraZeneca vaccine in the coming months, with the first shots being delivered on Feb. 8. The ministry expects 104 million doses by June, officials said.
The ministry is separately in talks with Pfizer to receive 8 million doses of the vaccine it developed with Germany’s BioNTech in the first half of 2021.
No Covid-19 vaccine has yet been approved for use in Brazil. The Pfizer / BioNTech recording has been approved in several countries, including the US, UK and Canada.
Bolsonaro, who has repeatedly downplayed the severity of the pandemic, has said he will not take a vaccine, sparking broader skepticism about the shots among Brazilians. However, Brazilian public health authorities have said they will use any vaccine approved by regulators.
Brazil registered 55,202 new cases of coronavirus on Tuesday, bringing the total to 7,318,821. The number of deaths increased by 968 to 188,259.