Jan 23, 2021 - World

Brazil begins distributing AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine

Oriana González

Picture of a big box filled with AstraZeneca vaccines arriving in Brazil — Containers carrying doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine arrive in Brazil. Photo: Maurio Pimentel/AFP via Getty Images

Brazil on Saturday began distributing the 2 million doses of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine that arrived from India Friday, Reuters reports.

Why it matters: Brazil has the third highest COVID-19 case-count in the world, according to Johns Hopkins University data. The 2 million doses "only scratch the surface of the shortfall," Brazilian public health experts told the AP.

The big picture: Brazil started its vaccination campaign Monday, per the New York Times, using China's Sinovac CoronaVac vaccine — which was found to be 78% effective in Brazil trials.

Brazil’s Butantan Institute, a medical research institute in São Paulo, made 6 million CoronaVac doses imported from China available, and it used materials imported from China to bottle an additional 4.8 million doses, per AP.
A flight from India planned for last week was delayed, derailing Brazil's plan to kick off its immunization with the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Brazil’s federally funded Fiocruz Institute has an agreement to produce up to 100 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Add Axios on Google

Brazil begins distributing AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine

What to read next