Brazil authorizes Oxford / AstraZeneca and Coronavac vaccines for emergency use

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Minutes later, Monica Calazans, a black nurse from downtown São Paulo, became the first Brazilian to be vaccinated. Calazans, who has a high risk of Covid-19 complications and has been working in an ICU that has 90% or more capacity since April, burst into tears before receiving the shot of Coronavac.

“You don’t understand what that means to me,” he told São Paulo state governor João Doria.

Brazil is the country most affected by Covid-19 in Latin America. It has recorded more than 8 million cases and more than 200,000 deaths from coronavirus. Although several of its neighbors have already approved vaccines for their use, Brazil appears to have lagged behind despite its recognized public health and vaccination trajectory.

Coronavac, developed by Chinese company Sinovac, is already authorized for use in 6 million imported doses. It has a history in the state of Sao Paulo, where the local Butantan Institute conducted phase III clinical trials of the vaccine. Butantan will also produce future doses.

However, Coronavac has shown a low average efficacy rate of 50.4%, just above the minimum 50% set by the World Health Organization. The number, which falls well below the 78% previously announced, has raised questions about the veracity of the data and has fueled skepticism over the apparent lack of transparency regarding Chinese vaccines.

ANVISA Greenoning Coronavac’s technical report stressed that the agency had also taken into account the urgency of the Covid-19 cases in Brazil fired and “the absence of therapeutic alternatives.”

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Additional follow-up of the vaccine was also recommended, noting that the Butantan Institute had not provided important data from its phase III study, such as the duration of protection provided by the vaccine and its effect on the elderly. people with comorbidities and other patient groups.

Doria has promised to make available to the Brazilian Federal Ministry of Health the vaccines developed in the state for national distribution.
“Today is V day. It’s vaccination day, it’s truth day, it’s victory day, it’s life day,” he said at a news conference after the approval of the vaccines: noted the inconvenience to the reluctance of Health Minister Eduardo Pazuello to commit to a nationwide vaccination start date, which he previously said would begin “on D-day and at H-hour.”
The Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine, which showed an average efficacy of 70.4% in phase III preliminary trials, has also been approved for the use of 2 million doses, which will be imported from the Serum Institute. of India by the Brazilian Foundation Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz).

Fiocruz signed an agreement to buy and produce the vaccine with pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca in June. After successive delays, the Brazilian government signed a 256 million-dose contract in October and announced it would receive the first ones in December.

After another series of delays, Fiocruz expects to receive the first shipment in late January.

CNN’s Rodrigo Pedroso reported from São Paulo and Caitlin Hu from New York.

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