The Brazilian government signed purchase orders with pharmaceutical firms Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer to receive 138 million vaccine doses over the next six months. 100 million doses will come from Pfizer, with Johnson & Johnson providing the remaining 38 million.
Health Minister Eduardo Pazuello — who is about to leave office and be replaced by Marcelo Queiroga — indicated this week that the agreements were close to completion. In all, the ministry says it has purchased 562 million shots for 2021.
The Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines are the only ones cleared for use and distribution in Brazil. Johnson & Johnson’s immunizer — the only single-shot vaccine currently available in the world — is awaiting approval from Brazilian health regulator Anvisa.
Brazil expects to receive 1 million vaccine doses from the UN-backed COVAX facility on Saturday, out of a total of 42 million. So far, 10.9 million people have been vaccinated, representing 5.19 percent of the total population.
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