The Brazilian government has finally opened a bidding process to purchase 331 million syringes and needles to be used in the country’s Covid-19 vaccination campaign.
While governments around the world scrambled to quickly vaccinate their citizens, the Brazilian government could be accused of taking its time. On June 23, the Economy Ministry asked the Health Ministry about its interest in importing disposable syringes from China — but the memo was left unanswered.
When Jair Bolsonaro named Army General Eduardo Pazuello as Health Minister, the government said that his lack of a medical background would be compensated by his expertise in logistics. But Mr. Pazuello’s time in charge has been marred by logistical blunders, from a lack of syringes to vaccinate over 210 million people (with each person getting two shots) to letting Covid-19 tests expire in an airport warehouse.
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