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The president of Anvisa (National Health Surveillance Agency), Antônio Barra, said that he is not concerned about the origin of the candidates for the coronavirus vaccine, but about their quality, safety and effectiveness. The statement comes shortly after President Jair Bolsonaro (non-party) disavows the Health Ministry and denies that the government is going to buy doses of CoronaVac, developed by the Butantan Institute with Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac Life Science. Barra also commented on this Chinese vaccine and revealed that he had not received the tests that the São Paulo government said it sent.
“Anvisa does not participate in any purchase from the federal government. Public policies are also the responsibility of the Ministry of Health. For us, it does not matter where the vaccine comes from or what country of origin it is: our constitutional duty is to give the answer that these products are of quality or not, induce or not induce immunity ”, Barra told reporters.
Alessandra Bastos, Anvisa director, complemented the president’s statement, praising the impartiality of the agency’s performance and saying that it is not the responsibility of Anvisa to pass judgment on the acquisitions made. “It is the Ministry of Health who decides what to buy, when to buy and from whom to buy,” he added.
CoronaVac tests
On the safety results of the CoronaVac vaccine, which were announced by São Paulo Governor João Doria (PSDB) on Monday, Anvisa reported that it has not yet received the management documents from São Paulo.
“We did not receive these cited documents. They were not sent to Anvisa,” revealed Barras.
Doria did not comment today on this delivery of the documents. Barras’ speeches occurred when the governor had already left Anvisa.
On Monday (19), Doria said that “the first results of the clinical study show that, among all vaccines, Coronavac is the safest and has the best and most promising rates. It is, in fact, the most advanced at this point” .
Politicization and foresight
Asked about a possible politicization of vaccines, the president of Anvisa assured that the agency will be impartial.
“We will stay out of the political discussion and any discussion that is not the technical and scientific of the North, so that we can deliver the vaccine as soon as possible to the Brazilian people,” he promised.
He also declined to make predictions about when a covid-19 vaccine should be available in Brazil.
“We will not be tied to any date. If someone makes a forecast, we hope we can fulfill it. But obviously it will not be due to a factor that conditions the greater effort we make, because we are working as hard as possible,” explained the president of Anvisa.
