Supreme Court allows states and cities to buy vaccines directly

Brazil’s Supreme Court justices voted to allow states and municipalities to purchase vaccines directly from manufacturers if the federal government fails to uphold its distribution commitments.

The case began when the Brazilian Bar Association asked the Supreme Court to authorize local governments to take it upon themselves to secure vaccine stocks if the federal immunization program is not carried out “quickly or broadly enough.” Multiple cities have been forced to suspend inoculations due to a lack of jabs — and the Jair Bolsonaro administration is still resistant to purchase doses from Johnson & Johnson, Moderna, and Pfizer.

The association also wants vaccines approved by reputed international regulatory agencies to gain automatic approval in Brazil, if federal regulator Anvisa does not say otherwise within a 72-hour window.

This post has been updated.

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