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The Minister of Health, Eduardo Pazuello, met today with governors from all over the country to take stock of the fight against covid-19 in Brazil and address the purchase of vaccines. The day after the governor of São Paulo, João Doria (PSDB), announced that there will be a State Immunization Plan, the minister rejected the possibility and said that vaccination will be national.
At the meeting, the minister also stated that the plan could begin at the end of February, with the application of the vaccine developed by the University of Oxford in partnership with the AstraZeneca laboratory. In the late afternoon, Pazuello made a statement to the press.
The minister avoids giving interviews and public statements, but this afternoon he listed the actions that the ministry claims to have taken in relation to the implementation of vaccines against the disease in the country. He did not allow journalists to ask questions: his statements were broadcast on TV Brasil.
“I emphasize that everyone in Brazil will have access to the vaccine. Everyone who wishes. We offer the vaccine and we will vaccinate those who want it,” Pazuello said during a speech at the Planalto Palace.
Pazuello once again affirmed that it is the responsibility of the Ministry of Health to plan and vaccinate “throughout Brazil.” “We cannot divide Brazil in a difficult time that we are all going through,” he said.
The PNI (National Immunization Plan) is national. It cannot be parallel. We have to speak the same language. We only have one enemy: the virus. We have to unite
Eduardo Pazuello, Minister of Health
The start date of vaccination has worried governors, who fear that states such as São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, which are home to the Butantan Institute and Fiocruz, respectively, will start immunization before the rest of the country. The São Paulo plan, for example, foresees the start of vaccination for January 25.
Pazuello indicated that it will be possible to start putting the plan into effect in February, due to the Anvisa (National Health Surveillance Agency) deadline.
Anvisa will need time to complete this mission. The record is around 60 days. If everything is round, we will have the effective AstraZeneca registration at the end of February, starting the vaccination.
Pazuello
Another concern is the purchase of supplies, such as syringes and needles, that have not yet been tendered. Commenting on the issue, the Health Minister said he “is committed” and promised “to vaccinate everyone as soon as possible.”
In his meeting with governors this morning, Pazuello spoke with Doria, a political opponent of Jair Bolsonaro. The governor of São Paulo questioned the minister about the lack of interest of the federal government in Coronavac, which is being developed in Brazil by the Chinese Sinovac, its manufacturer, in association with the Butantan Institute, linked to the São Paulo government.
Late in the afternoon, in an attack on Doria, Bolsonaro said that the federal government would make the vaccines available, free of charge and voluntarily, but without using them for political purposes, with an eye toward “personal and power projects.” .
“Brazil will make the vaccine available free of charge and voluntarily after proven efficacy and registration in Anvisa. We will protect the population respecting their freedom, and we will not use it for political purposes, putting their health at risk for personal power projects,” he wrote Bolsonaro, in a post published on social networks.
Vaccines on demand
According to the Ministry of Health, the federal government has agreements with the AstraZeneca laboratory to receive 260 million doses and supplies for manufacturing in 2021. It would be 100 million in the first semester and another 160 million in the second semester. According to Pazuello, 15 million of these doses begin to arrive in January.
In addition, there will be 42 million doses of some vaccine that will come from the Covax Facility consortium, manufactured worldwide. That is why the SUS (Unified Health System) has guaranteed 300 million doses by 2021, according to the folder. Each individual will have to take two doses, which is why vaccines are guaranteed for 150 million people.
Pazuello also said at the meeting that there are negotiations with Butantan and Pfizer. However, according to him, the purchase of these vaccines depends on the registration of products in Anvisa; Currently, no immunizer against covid-19 has authorization from the agency.
Although this amount does not meet the demand of the Brazilian population, which is about 200 million people, the Ministry of Health said it will only buy other vaccines if there is demand.
All vaccines that have their effectiveness and registration in the correct form in Anvisa, if necessary, will be acquired. President Jair Bolsonaro has already made it clear
Pazuello
The minister also told the governors that the Health Ministry has already prepared the national logistics for the distribution of vaccines, which will be presented “soon,” according to a statement released by the ministry.
