JAKARTA - As one of the countries hardest hit by COVID-19, Brazil is a field of money for vaccine producers. After previously working with AstraZeneca and China's Sinovac Biotech, now the State of Bahia has signed a collaboration with Russia regarding the Phase III trial of the Sputnik V vaccine.
Launching Reuters on Friday, September 11, the Bahia government plans to buy 50 million doses of Sputnik V when it successfully passes phase III trials. As an initial step, Governor Bahia Rui Costa said the region he leads will receive 500 initial doses of vaccine for further research.
Costa also said that the central government should build more international partnerships. Costa said, this is an important strategy to help research on vaccines that are being developed.
Health Secretary of Bahia Gabio Vilas-Boas said that he will immediately market the vaccine to the people of Bahia after the completion of the phase III trial in October. The center for pharmaceutical research, Bahiafarma, is the institution that will market the vaccine.
Currently a Russian vaccine is being developed by the Moscow Gamaleya Research Institute and will be marketed by the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF). Russia has so far signed an agreement with another Brazilian state, Paraná, to test and produce a vaccine.
In an explanation presented last Thursday, September 10, RDIF Chief Executive Kiril Dmitriev said Bahia would be the state of Brazil they would work with. "Another major Brazilian state has agreed to get 50 million doses of vaccine,"
However, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro remains on his view on COVID-19. He will not force the Brazilian people to be vaccinated. "Nothing can force anyone to get a vaccine."
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