They have described the deal with Bharat Biotech as a way to ensure that Brazilians use the private healthcare system.
Rio de Janeiro Brazil:
A Brazilian association of private health clinics said on Sunday it was negotiating with the Indian pharmaceutical company Bharat Biotech to buy five million doses of its Covid-19 vaccine, which India has just authorized for emergency use.
The Brazilian Association of Vaccine Clinics (ABCVAC) confirmed on its website that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with the Indian firm for the purchase of its Covaxin vaccine, which is currently in the final stage of clinical trials.
Any final deal would be subject to approval by Brazil’s health regulator Anvisa, which has yet to approve any vaccine against the new coronavirus.
The government of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro faces mounting criticism for delaying a vaccination campaign in Brazil, which has the second-highest death toll in the pandemic, after the United States.
ABCVAC described its planned deal with Bharat Biotech as a way to ensure that Brazilians who use the private health system, usually the wealthy, have access to a vaccine, even as the government reserves its own initial doses for the public health system and for priority groups such as healthcare workers and the elderly.
“We were looking for solutions for the private market and the possibility of using this Indian vaccine came up, which is very promising,” ABCVAC president Geraldo Barbosa told Globo News television.
“It is an additional sale that will not interfere with the number of doses of vaccines that the government has ordered.”
India approved vaccines from both Bharat and Britain’s Oxford University early Sunday for “restricted use in emergency situations,” though the former is still in testing.
The country has set an ambitious goal of vaccinating 300 million of its 1.3 billion people by mid-year.
Meanwhile, Brazil is struggling to get its vaccination campaign off the ground, amid political disputes and skepticism about vaccines from Bolsonaro, who regularly ignores expert advice to contain the pandemic and says he does not plan to get vaccinated against Covid. -19 himself.
The government has secured 100 million doses of the Oxford vaccine, but has yet to set a start date, obtain regulatory approval, or purchase the necessary syringes.
The Brazilian Ministry of Health must announce the start date of its vaccination campaign on Monday.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is posted from a syndicated channel.)
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