Coronavirus

AstraZeneca becomes the most-used vaccine in Brazil, surpassing CoronaVac

astrazeneca vaccine pandemic brazil
Photo: Rovena Rosa/ABr

The Covid-19 vaccine produced by AstraZeneca became the most widely used immunizer in Brazil as of this July 2, according to data from the Health Ministry. Since Brazil’s first vaccine shot administered on January 17, the CoronaVac had been holding that title. 

Numbers show that the British-Swiss vaccine, in Brazil produced by the flagship federal biological institute Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, accounts for 46 percent of jabs administered in the country.. Now, CoronaVac answers for 45 percent of the shots, Pfizer for 8 percent as Janssen’s single-shot vaccine, which arrived in Brazil in June, is equivalent to 1 percent. 

Though more frequently used, the AstraZeneca vaccine is in the middle of a possible scandal: local newspaper Folha de S.Paulo reported this Friday that at least 26,000 doses from the lab could have been used though already expired. 

Until July, Brazil has administered more than 103 million vaccines shots, with 12.8 percent of the population fully vaccinated.