Coronavirus

Brazilian Health Minister plans “yearly vaccination” against Covid-19

yearly vaccination bolsonaro
Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga vaccinates Paralympic rower Michel Pessanha before he heads to the Tokyo Games. Photo: Fernando Frazão/ABr

Brazil’s Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga said during an interview that his administration already expects to include Covid-19 vaccines in the country’s yearly immunization calendar. 

“[The coronavirus] might become endemic, therefore we would have to vaccinate Brazilians annually. We have to strengthen our health industrial complex to be able to produce enough vaccines,” Mr. Queiroga told TV news channel CNN. The ministry is putting its faith in the production of vaccines in veterinary facilities — which is now legally permitted nationwide — and in the country’s expertise to produce its own vaccines. “We seek participation in the UN-backed Covax Facility not to purchase vaccines, but to produce them,” said Mr. Queiroga.