Brazil wants to buy 138 million COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson

The Brazilian Minister of Health, Eduardo Pazuello, recognized this Wednesday that the country lives “a serious moment of the pandemic”Coronavirus and announced that the government intends to purchase 138 million doses of vaccines developed by the Pfizer-BioNTech consortium and Janssen, the Johnson & Johnson subsidiary.

“Today is a difficult day for all Brazilians. We have arrived at a serious moment in the pandemic. Coronavirus variants hit us aggressively“Said the minister, deploring the toll of 1,910 deaths due to COVID-19 in a single day, after having held a meeting with representatives of the laboratories.

Pazuello assured that his wallet “working hard to change this image“Y celebrated progress for the acquisition of 138 million doses of anticovid vaccines from next May, with which it hopes to speed up the vaccination process which began throughout Brazil in January.

“We are dealing with Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson to have 138 million doses as of next May more vaccines to vaccinate our population thanks to the national vaccination program, ”he stressed.

Of this total, 100 million doses correspond to the formula developed by the American pharmaceutical company Pfizer in collaboration with the German BioNTech, which already holds the definitive registration for its massive use in Brazil, granted last week by the National Agency for Health Surveillance (Anvisa, regulator).

The remaining 38 million doses are for Janssen’s antidote., who then conducted phase III clinical studies in Brazil.

According to Pazuello, the negotiations were made possible by the approval by Congress the day before of a bill that eases the purchase of vaccines and provides that governments can be held responsible for possible adverse effects caused by the application of antidotes.

“It will now be possible to incorporate new vaccines that previously presented legal obstacles“Explained the Minister of Health, who added that the contracts should be formalized in the coming days.

The government of President Jair Bolsonaro, one of the leaders who denies the severity of the pandemic, has been negotiating the purchase of vaccines with Pfizer for months, but talks have not progressed due to certain clauses of the contract.

“We are happy to continue this negotiation in order to be able to bring our vaccine to the Brazilian population.Pfizer Brazil President Marta Díez said in a statement.

The Ministry of Health predicts that the first doses of Pfizer should reach the Latin American giant at the end of the first half of the year.

Regarding the formula developed by Janssen, Brazil hopes to receive 16.9 million doses between July and September and an additional 21.1 million until December.

“We are working hard to ensure that until the end of this year, those over 18 who can be vaccinated will be vaccinated“Pazuello guaranteed.

Brazil is experiencing its most intense peak in the pandemic since the confirmation of the first case of COVID-19 on February 26, 2020.

For about a month and a half, the average daily number of deaths from the virus has not fallen below one thousand and the number of infections has risen to 50,000.

The resurgence of the disease has left most Brazilian states edge of health collapse due to the rebound in hospitalizations for coronavirus after the crowds recorded at the end of the year and the carnival festivities.

So far, Brazil has vaccinated around 3.47% of its population, which equates to some 7.35 million of its more than 210 million people.

(With information from EFE)

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