Brazil Signs Agreement To Produce Astrazeneca`s Experimental Covid-19 Vaccine

A report in the medical journal The Lancet on a COVID-19 vaccine, developed and tested in Russia, says it has shown promising results, but adds that more work is needed. World Health Organization chief researcher Soumya Swaminathan said Friday that AstraZeneca`s experimental vaccine is probably the world`s leading and most advanced candidate in terms of development. Brazilian Health Ministry officials said at a press conference that the country would pay $127 million (US$33 million) in December and January and that it would receive equipment to produce 30.4 million doses in two batches, allowing it to quickly begin immunization efforts if the vaccine is certified safe and effective. Political rivalries in Brazil are likely to increase the pressure. Fiocruz is linked to the federal government`s Ministry of Health, while Butantan is part of the Sao Paulo state government and Doria is a sworn political enemy of Bolsonaro. The first to receive permission for a vaccine may receive political awards. In previous studies, the experimental Sputnik V vaccine triggered an immune response and, according to Russian researchers, did not cause any side effects. Doctors examined 76 healthy volunteers aged 18 to 60 years for six weeks. More than 6 months after the confirmation of the first COVID-19 case in Brazil, the pandemic is still raging, with some 30,000 new cases and 740 deaths per day.

(The total number of deaths, 136,000, is the second highest in the United States. These gloomy statistics – with good medical infrastructure, expertise in vaccination, a well-established regulatory system and experience in conducting clinical trials – have made Brazil an ideal place to test COVID 19 experimental vaccines. At least four vaccine candidates, produced by Western and Chinese firms, are being tested here or soon. Negotiations are under way to also test the Russian vaccine Sputnik V. French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi is setting off a political firestorm by saying it would give the United States priority access to a vaccine because it was the first country to fund research. 15 June: Imperial College London announces the start of human vaccine trials. Meanwhile, the BioNTech/Pfizer/Fosun Pharma consortium is recruiting 2,000 volunteers in Sao Paulo and Salvador for a Phase III study of its messenger RNA vaccine, part of a 29,000-person trial program, which also has sites in the United States, Argentina and Turkey.


Artículos Relacionados