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Sinovac maintains an alliance with Butantan, an institute linked to the São Paulo government, for the development and production of Coronavac, which is still in the third test phase, but which is already the target of a strong political dispute in Brazil.
“This vaccine issue is a political ‘fight’ with João Doria [governador de São Paulo]. The government will buy the vaccine, of course it will. We have already invested resources in Butantan to produce this vaccine. The Government will not escape from that, “said Mourão, in an interview with Veja magazine, adding that he is not afraid to take Coronavac, if it is certified by the health authorities.
Governor João Doria has established himself as Bolsonaro’s political opponent, with whom he has been fighting since the beginning of the pandemic, in a controversy that was aggravated by the Coronavac immunization, after the Brazilian head of state refused to invest in this vaccine.
The Government of São Paulo signed a contract with Sinovac that included the purchase and distribution of 46 million doses of the immunizer.
For his part, the Minister of Health, Eduardo Pazuello, announced last week the intention of the central government to buy another 46 million doses of the Chinese formula, still under study.
However, Bolsonaro dismissed his minister, through social networks, and vetoed the purchase of Coronavac, arguing that the immunizer had not even passed the clinical testing phase.
The refusal of the Brazilian head of state contrasts with another agreement – signed by his Government with the University of Oxford and with the AstraZeneca laboratory – for the purchase of 100 million doses of the vaccine, which both institutions develop and which is in the same . phase of studies than the immunizer Sinovac.
According to Butantan, Coronavac tests in Brazil show that the immunizer is the safest among all those in the final testing phase, as it has the lowest rate of side effects.
Bolsonaro, who is skeptical about the severity of the pandemic, also determined that vaccination against covid-19 will not be mandatory.
On Thursday, in his usual live broadcast on the social network Facebook, Jair Bolsonaro again attacked João Doria, declaring that he will not sponsor the immunizer produced by Sinovac.
“So, dear Governor of São Paulo, you know that I am in love with you, you know. (…) But nobody is going to take the vaccine by force [contra a vontade], OK? Seeks another. And I, who am a government, will not buy your vaccine either. Find someone else to pay for your vaccine, “the president said again.
Brazil is the Portuguese-speaking country most affected by the pandemic and one of the most affected in the world, accounting for the second number of deaths (about 5.5 million cases and 158,969 deaths), after the United States.
The covid-19 pandemic has already claimed more than 1.1 million deaths and more than 45.1 million cases of infection worldwide, according to a report prepared by the French agency AFP.
