SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Brazilian health regulator Anvisa approved clinical trials on Friday of a possible coronavirus vaccine developed by China’s Sinovac, according to an official bulletin publication.
The study, first announced on June 11, is led by the Butantan Institute, a research center funded by the state of Sao Paulo. The agreement with Sinovac includes not only trials, but also the transfer of technology to produce the potential vaccine locally.
On June 29, Sao Paulo state governor Joao Doria said 9,000 volunteers have already signed up to test the vaccine against COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the new coronavirus.
The tests will be carried out by 12 research centers in six Brazilian states: Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, Brasilia, Rio Grande do Sul and Paraná, according to Doria.
Anvisa’s approval comes after Brazil topped 1.5 million confirmed cases of COVID-19, according to data from the Health Ministry, the second-worst outbreak after the United States. The number of deaths increased by 1,290 in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number to 63,174, according to the data.
(Report by Eduardo Simoes and Gabriela Mello; Christian Schmollinger Edition)
Gallery: Brazil exceeds 50,000 coronavirus deaths as outbreak worsens (Reuters)
An aerial view of crosses casting shadows at the Parque Taruma cemetery in Manaus, Brazil, on June 15. Brazil, the world’s number 2 hottest coronavirus spot after the United States, officially topped 50,000 coronavirus deaths on Sunday, a blow to a country already struggling with more than 1 million cases. REUTERS / Bruno Kelly
Catholic priest Reginaldo Manzotti conducts a mass, broadcast live on television, with photos of the faithful on church pews at the Santuario de Nossa Senhora de Guadalupe church in Curitiba, Brazil, on March 21. REUTERS / Rodolfo Buhrer
The body of Valnir Mendes da Silva, 62, lies on a sidewalk in the Arara community, where he died after residents asked for help from the emergency service because he suffered from respiratory problems, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on 17 December. may. According to residents. , it took about 30 hours to eliminate the body. REUTERS / Ricardo Moraes
Health workers hold flowers as they pay tribute to their co-worker Maria dos Santos, a nurse who died of the coronavirus disease, outside the Dr. José Soares Hungria Hospital in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on April 23. REUTERS / Amanda Perobelli
A woman feeling sick with asthma is seen at the entrance to her home in the poor neighborhood of Mandela, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on April 21. REUTERS / Pilar Olivares
An aerial view of the empty Octavio Frias de Oliveira bridge, a cable-stayed bridge, on the first day of closure imposed by the state government in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on March 24. REUTERS / Leonardo Benassatto
A health worker vaccinates a woman against the flu, as advised by health officials, amid the coronavirus outbreak, in Brasilia, Brazil, on March 23. REUTERS / Ueslei Marcelino
A health worker reacts in front of the body of 78-year-old Laureano Ferraz, an indigenous Wanano man who died of the coronavirus, after arriving in an ICU jet from Sao Gabriel da Cachoeira to Manaus, Brazil, on May 18 . REUTERS / Bruno Kelly
Pianist Rodrigo Cunha serenades lonely mothers in quarantine in an open truck in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on May 8. REUTERS / Amanda Perobelli
Alessandra Said, 45, a doctor from the Emergency Rescue Service (SAMU) hugs her mother, Maria da Consolacao Said, 77, who recently recovered from the coronavirus disease, after monitoring her in Manaus, Brazil, on May 12. REUTERS / Bruno Kelly
Ermando Armelino Piveta, a 99-year-old former World War II combatant, gestures upon leaving the Armed Forces Hospital, after being treated for the coronavirus and released, in Brasilia, Brazil, on April 14. REUTERS / Ueslei Marcelino
Gravediggers in protective suits gather at the Vila Formosa Cemetery, the largest cemetery in Brazil, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on April 2. REUTERS / Amanda Perobelli
Adelmo Carvalho, 55, a sales representative who used to play in church, plays the violin on his balcony as a delivery man passes by in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on March 29. REUTERS / Ricardo Moraes
Russia Goes, a nurse who gave birth on April 26 hooked to a ventilation tube to help her breathe while struggling with serious symptoms of COVID-19, carries her daughter Luisa, her premature baby, after she was discharged. of the hospital, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, May 25. REUTERS / Ricardo Moraes
Dr. Luciana Souza and nurse Edson dos Santos talk while taking a break at a field hospital set up to treat patients suffering from the coronavirus in Guarulhos, São Paulo state, Brazil, May 12. REUTERS / Amanda Perobelli
SOS Funeral workers, dressed in protective clothing, prepare to remove Antonio Freitas’ coffin at his home in the Tancredo Neves neighborhood in Manaus, Brazil, on May 7. REUTERS / Bruno Kelly
5-year-old Alice takes her books that fell after her daily home study session during a state government-imposed lockdown in Santo Andre, Brazil, on March 26. REUTERS / Amanda Perobelli
Relatives watch gravediggers in protective suits bury the coffin of a man who died of coronavirus at the Vila Formosa cemetery, the largest cemetery in Brazil, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on May 13. REUTERS / Amanda Perobelli
Fabiano Santana de Souza, 37, a patient suffering from the coronavirus, talks to his wife and daughter about a video call at a field hospital set up in a sports gym in Santo Andre, São Paulo state, Brazil, on Dec. 6. may. REUTERS / Amanda Perobelli
Ossimar Silva touches his mother Carmelita Valverde, 85, through a plastic curtain at the 3i Bem-Estar nursing home – Senior Residential, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on May 30. REUTERS / Rahel Patrasso
Lauro Riff Viegas, 69, gestures when he leaves the Nossa Senhora da Conceicao Hospital, after being treated for the coronavirus and released, in Porto Alegre, Brazil, on April 27. REUTERS / Diego Vara
Gravediggers open new graves as death toll rises at Vila Formosa Cemetery, Brazil’s largest cemetery, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on April 2. REUTERS / Amanda Perobelli
Artists perform with red balloons at a protest honoring people who died of the coronavirus in Brasilia, Brazil, on June 1. REUTERS / Adriano Machado
A medical staff member cares for a patient in the intensive care unit (ICU) of the Nossa Senhora da Conceicao hospital in Porto Alegre, Brazil, on April 17. REUTERS / Diego Vara
A gravedigger rests during the coronavirus outbreak at the Sao Francisco Xavier cemetery in Rio de Janeiro. Brazil, April 13. REUTERS / Ian Cheibub
