Supreme Court forbids government from claiming syringes from São Paulo

Supreme Court Justice Ricardo Lewandowski forbade Brazil’s federal government from requisitioning syringes and needles necessary for Covid-19 immunization from state administrations. Justice Lewandowski declared that the Brazilian government’s “negligence cannot harm the diligence of the São Paulo government.”

São Paulo state prosecutors had filed a lawsuit after a syringe producer claimed it could not meet delivery deadlines because the Health Ministry had requested all inputs for the federal government.

Justice Lewandowski noted that, if the inputs have already been requisitioned, they must be returned in no later than 48 hours. Breaching this demand would incur a daily fine of BRL 100,000.

By late December, São Paulo had acquired 71 million needles and syringes to vaccinate its population against Covid-19 and intended to increase purchases to 100 million units. The state aims to start its vaccination campaign on January 25, prioritizing health workers.

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