Coronavirus

Two-thirds of vaccinated Brazilians wait for second jab

dose vaccine
“We want vaccines,” say protesters in Goiânia. Photo: Angela Macario/Shutterstock

Brazil has already vaccinated 60.4 percent of its population with at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine. However, 34.2 percent of Brazilians — or 72.7 million people — are still waiting for their second jab. Only Taiwan and Fiji have a higher percentage of their populations awaiting full immunization, according to Our World in Data.

This number is partly explained by the rate of application of second vaccine doses in Brazil, having dropped from May onwards when the AstraZeneca immunizer became the most-used vaccine in Brazil. With a longer second-dose interval (90 days) than the previous most popular immunizer CoronaVac, the country started taking much longer on average to fully inoculate its citizens.

Moreover, last week, Brazil’s Health Ministry announced that there are more than 8.5 million Brazilians who missed their deadline to come forward to receive second vaccine doses.