Today, regulators announce crucial meeting to decide on vaccine approvals. Agribusiness has a strong 2020, but questions remain over this year. A new candidate in the Senate leadership race.
Brazil’s vaccine D-day
Brazilian health regulators Anvisa will hold a meeting on January 17 to decide whether to grant emergency approval to two coronavirus vaccines: one by AstraZeneca and the Chinese-made CoronaVac. According to the Health Ministry, doses could reach states and municipalities within four days after receiving the green light.
Why it matters. Brazil has lagged behind the developed world — and even some of its South American neighbors — in the vaccination process, and there remains no clear date for inoculation to begin. And the delays come as Brazil finds itself in the throes of a brutal second coronavirus wave. For the fifth time this year, the country recorded over 1,000 new daily deaths.
Disappointing. Meanwhile, the São Paulo-based Butantan Biological Institute has finally released comprehensive data on the CoronaVac clinical trials in Brazil. The vaccine was just 50.4 percent effective at preventing symptomatic infections — barely meeting regulatory standards and well below the 78-percent efficacy rate advertised last week. Vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna were over 90-percent effective.
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