Today, we explain Brazil’s latest coronavirus vaccine controversy. Brazil’s place among the world’s top economies. And a setback for reducing carbon emissions.
Brazil halts Chinese vaccine tests
Citing an unspecified “severe adverse event,” Brazil’s Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) suspended clinical trials of the CoronaVac — the potential Covid-19 vaccine being developed by Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac Biotech and tested in Brazil by the state government of São Paulo. The trial organizers countered the information, saying the regulators based their decision on the death of a volunteer in the study that was unrelated to the vaccine.
- The state of São Paulo said it found out about the decision through the press, and called for a press conference today at 11 am (Brasília time).
Why it matters. The decision stops local trials on one of the most-advanced vaccine studies in the world. In October, preliminary data indicated that just over one-third of patients suffered from at least one side effect (35 percent), lower than other potential vaccines being tested in the country.
- The decision to stop the trials came hours after São Paulo announced construction had begun on Latin America’s first Covid-19 vaccine factory.
Backdrop. The CoronaVac has become subject to a...