Brazil To Produce Chinese Coronavirus Vaccine As Per New Agreement

Brazil has signed an agreement with China’s Sinovac Biotech to produce its coronavirus vaccine, which is slated to be tested among 9,000 volunteers in July.

The technology transfer agreement has been signed between Sinovac Biotech and the Butantan Institute, which is Brazil’s one of the largest research institutes.

The production of the Chinese coronavirus vaccine will take place in Sao Paulo. The city’s governor Joao Doria said that early studies confirm that COVID-19 vaccination could be distributed by 2021 and the technology transfer agreement will be a boon for millions of Brazilians who will be able to receive immunization owing to mass production in their home country.

Last month, Sinovac Biotech had said that it is ready to produce about 100 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine under the brand name “Coronavac.” It is one of the four Chinese companies to have received an official nod to conduct clinical COVID-19 vaccine trials.

The third and final phase of the Chinese coronavirus vaccine testing is expected to begin in mid-July. For the testing, 9,000 volunteers have been identified.

Earlier, Brazil announced that it will be testing coronavirus vaccine being developed by the University of Oxford in June among 2,000 volunteers.

Brazil is the second hardest-hit country in the world when it comes to the overall tally of coronavirus. So far, more than 770,000 confirmed infections and as many as 40,000 deaths have been reported in the country.

Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro has been widely criticized for his indecisiveness and lack of action against the COVID-19 pandemic. He has also been accused of trying to hide the official number of victims who lost their lives to the pandemic by ordering to wipe off data from the Ministry of Health’s website.

The decision was later overruled by the Brazilian Supreme Court, after which the data was restored on the website.

Bolsonaro has described the agreement between China and Brazil as “historic.”

“We have had to overcome Brazil’s disagreements with China, with other countries and with organizations like the WHO,” he said during a briefing, referring to his minister who criticized China in the past for the pandemic.