Brazil began distributing the 2 million doses of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine that arrived from India on Friday, Reuters reported on Saturday.
Why it matters: According to Johns Hopkins University data, Brazil has the third highest COVID-19 number of cases in the world. The two million doses “only scratch the surface of the deficit,” Brazilian public health experts told the AP.
The whole picture: Brazil began the vaccination campaign on Monday, according to the New York Times, with the Sinovac CoronaVac vaccine from China – which was found to be 78% effective in Brazil trials.
- The Brazilian Butantan Institute, a medical research institute in São Paulo, has made available 6 million doses of CoronaVac imported from China and used materials imported from China to bottle 4.8 million doses per AP.
- A flight from India scheduled for last week has been delayed, derailing Brazil’s plan to start vaccinating with the AstraZeneca vaccine.
- The Brazil-federally funded Fiocruz Institute has agreed to produce up to 100 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine.