[ad_1]
Brazil, the country with the second-highest number of coronavirus deaths, surpassed the 10 million mark for reported infections on Thursday, amid a second deadly wave and problems with its vaccination campaign.
The country became the third to hit the bleak mark, after the United States and India, with more than 51,900 new infections in 24 hours, according to official data.
During the same one-day period, 1,367 people died, bringing the total to more than 243,400.
Brazil’s figure of 10,030,626 came amid mounting criticism about how President Jair Bolsonaro’s government has handled the epidemic and a vaccination response.
So far, three percent of the 212 million population have received one of the two required doses of vaccine.
However, the month-long campaign with China’s CoronaVac and AstraZeneca vaccine had to be stopped in several cities and towns due to dose shortages, including in Rio de Janeiro.
Health Minister Eduardo Pazuello said this week that the country would have 230 million doses by the end of July. But this depends on the delivery of doses from abroad, as well as the shipment of components for manufacturing in Brazil.
The government’s plan also relies on 10 million doses of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine and 20 million of Covaxin from India. Brazil has not yet finalized the contracts with these two countries.
As Brazil battles a second wave of infection, it also has to contend with a new variant of the virus, believed to be more contagious, spreading rapidly across the country.
