Brazil Approves Emergency Use Of Sinovac When President Bolsonaro Is Still Skeptic On Vaccinations

Presiden Brasil Jair Bolsonaro (Sumber: Commons WIkimedia)

JAKARTA - Brazilian health regulator Anvisa approved the emergency use of China's COVID-19 vaccine, Sinovac Biotech Ltd and British-made vaccine AstraZeneca. This paved the way for vaccinations as the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil entered its second deadly wave.

Quoting Reuters on Monday, January 18, 2021, minutes after the Anvisa council unanimously approved the two vaccines, a 54-year-old nurse named Monica Calazans in Sao Paulo became the first person to be vaccinated in the country. He received the Sinovac vaccine which is also known as CoronaVac.

Meanwhile, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is under pressure to immediately start vaccinations in Brazil. Brazil is a country other than the United States (US) with the worst death toll in the world.

Brazil has lost 200 thousand people to COVID-19. Despite this approval, Bolsonaro himself is skeptical of vaccines. Bolsonaro also refused to be vaccinated.

Delays in vaccine deliveries and test results have put a hold on the vaccination process in the country, which was once a global leader in mass immunization. Sadly, Brazil is currently lagging behind regionally, after countries such as Chile and Mexico started vaccinating in December 2020.

The Bolsonaro administration has a goal of starting a national immunization program this week. But they are still awaiting delivery of the AstraZeneca vaccine at the heart of their plan.

This adds to public frustration and offers political rivals a chance to defeat the far-right president. Sao Paulo governor Joao Doria said Anvisa's decision was a victory for science.

Doria is the person who oversees the Butantan biomedical center, which is partnered with Sinovac in Brazil. “A victory for science. Victory for life. Victory for Brazil, "said Doria.

Bolsonaro, Doria's most potential contender in the 2022 elections, has mocked him for the 50 percent efficacy of the Sinovac vaccine. But the federal Health Ministry has agreed to procure and distribute the Sinovac vaccine as a national vaccination program.

Health Minister Eduardo Pazuello said the rush to initiate vaccinations was an illegal "marketing ploy". He claims the government will start distributing vaccines to the state on Monday, January 18, with the national immunization plan starting on Wednesday, January 10.

The Ministry of Health has prepared two million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine from India. But officials there suggest it may take weeks to approve exports.

Pazuello said he expected a vaccine from India to be available in Brazil this week. The second wave of COVID-19 in Brazil intensified as the country faced a new, more contagious variant of the coronavirus.

The new variant comes from Brazil's largest state, Amazonas. The development of the case prompted Britain and Italy to ban their citizens from entering Brazil.