‎Brazil News

Government sends more than 7.6 million doses of AstraZeneca/Fiocruz to the states and DF

Brazil received, this Sunday (20), another batch of covid-19 vaccines by the Covax Facility consortium - Photo: Ministry of Health

 

States and Federal District are receiving yet another batch of covid-19 vaccines. The Ministry of Health will deliver 7.6 million doses of AstraZeneca/Oxford, produced in Brazil by the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) with imported raw material. Distribution began this Sunday (20) and is scheduled to be completed this Monday (21).

 

Aiming to complete the vaccine schemes that have already started, the immunizing agent is intended for the second dose of the elderly between 60 and 64 years old, health workers and agents of the security and rescue forces and the Armed Forces who work on the front line of the health crisis .

 

The distribution strategy is defined in meetings between the Union, states and municipalities, observing the confirmations of the delivery schedule by the laboratories. The goal is to ensure coverage of the vaccination schedule within the recommended time of each immunizing agent: in the case of Fiocruz's vaccine, the interval is 12 weeks.

 

Since January, the Ministry of Health has allocated more than 123 million doses of contracted immunizing agents to all Federative Units. To date, more than 86 million have been applied.

 

Covax Facility

This Sunday (20), the Ministry of Health received another batch of covid-19 vaccines by the Covax Facility consortium. In total, 842.4 thousand doses from Pfizer/BioNTech landed at Viracopos Airport (SP), fulfilling the expected arrival of this shipment for June.

 

This is the first batch of the pharmaceutical that landed in the country from the alliance led by the World Health Organization (WHO) and other partners. Brazil's contract with Covax provides for 42.5 million doses of covid-19 vaccines from different laboratories by the end of 2021.

 

Until then, Brazil had received batches via the Covax Facility of the vaccine from AstraZeneca/Oxford, produced in South Korea and acquired through the Revolving Fund of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). All of the more than 5 million doses have already been distributed to the states and the Federal District. Another 4 million doses from the same laboratory are expected to be delivered by July.