São Paulo Governor João Doria declared yesterday that the state’s entire adult population will be vaccinated against the coronavirus by October 31. “Prepare your arms,” he said, in a tweet.
The vaccine push in São Paulo is crucial for Mr. Doria’s 2022 presidential hopes as he tries to position himself as a “third way” candidate. He faces an uphill battle, considering that center-left former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and President Jair Bolsonaro are polling way ahead of the competition.
The government said São Paulo’s vaccine production facility will receive inputs from China allowing for the production of 10 million doses by the end of the month.
Last year, João Doria championed the use of the Chinese-made CoronaVac vaccine, facing opposition from the federal government. But the immunizer has accounted for most of the jabs rolled out in Brazil, and has recently been cleared for emergency use by the World Health Organization.
As of June 3, São Paulo’s full immunization rate sat above the national average. While 10.7 percent of the nationwide population have received two vaccine doses, 12.3 percent of São Paulo residents are fully vaccinated.
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