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