Health Minister enjoys house party while Brazil awaits vaccination details

During the weekend, Health Minister Eduardo Pazuello joined Federal District Governor Ibaneis Rocha and popular country singer Zezé di Camargo at a house party hosted at Mr. Rocha’s home. The event took place on Saturday, as Brazil announced an overall total of 181,000 Covid-19 deaths. None of the party guests used facemasks or observed social distancing.

While the Health Minister was celebrating, Supreme Court Justice Ricardo Lewandoswki demanded the Health Ministry to present the deadlines for its national vaccination plan in up to 48 hours. 

The government’s immunization schedule did not include the CoronaVac vaccine, developed by Chinese lab Sinovac and Brazil’s Butantã Institute, which has become the source of much disagreement between the federal government and the state of São Paulo. Health Ministry authorities justified the absence of deadlines to begin vaccination by saying it would be “irresponsible” to do so without regulator Anvisa having approved any Covid-19 vaccine for use in the country. 

The government’s proposal was mired in controversy, as 36 experts listed as signatories denied having seen or approved the plan’s final version. The Ministry says they do not have any decision-making authority on the document.

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