Up until today, more than 700,000 Brazilians have died from Covid, with the pandemic-causing disease claiming its highest number of victims in 2021, while the country struggled to roll out its vaccination program. Brazil was unable to develop its own Covid vaccine in time and had to import doses from abroad. Indeed, it was only recently that health regulators Anvisa authorized the second phase of clinical trials for a 100-percent Brazilian-made immunizer.
The vaccine will only be ready for human use by the end of 2024, at the earliest — almost two years after the World Health Organization declared the end of the Covid pandemic.
Going by the name SpiN-Tec, trials for the Brazilian vaccine began in November 2020, held by the Vaccine Technological Center of the Federal University of Minas Gerais and the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation. Other institutions have also started their own research, but are in less advanced phases.
While Brazil lagged behind, Russia, China, and India — fellow BRICS nations — were able to develop their own vaccines. And Brazil’s failure caused some surprise, given the country has long been considered a global role model when it comes to vaccination.
Brazil’s vaccination system is the world’s biggest in terms of reach, and it is free of charge for its citizens, providing 20 immunizers that eradicated diseases such as polio, neonatal tetanus, and congenital rubella in a continent-sized country. However, a decrease in investment and the rise of anti-vax sentiment have caused vaccination coverage to become less widespread in recent years.
In fact, along with the Covid failures, Brazil’s National Immunization Program turned 50 this year alongside...
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