9:25 p.m. ET, December 16, 2020
Brazil announces Covid-19 vaccination rollout plan
From CNN’s Tatiana Arias and Florencia Trucco
Brazilan President Jair Bolsonaro, right, talks with his Health Minister Eduardo Pazuello during a ceremony presenting Brazil's National Vaccination Plan Against Covid-19 at Planalto presidential palace in Brasilia, Brazil, on Wednesday, December 16.
Eraldo Peres/AP
Brazil’s Ministry of Health on Wednesday announced its national vaccination rollout plan to counter Covid-19, set to start early next year.
During a ceremony at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia, with President Jair Bolsonaro in attendance, the country’s Health Minister Eduardo Pazuello gave what he called a “macro-view” of the strategy to vaccinate Brazilians.
The plan consists of four phases based on priority groups. The first three phases will constitute the vaccination of nearly 50 million people and should start in February, according to health authorities.
The priority groups will include health and educational workers, the indigenous population, elderly people aged over 75, those with pre-existing health conditions, members of the security forces, transport officials and inmates, among others.
According to a statement published Wednesday by the Health Ministry, Brazil has already negotiated deals for more than 300 million vaccine doses for 2021, “through agreements with Fiocruz/AstraZeneca (100.4 million doses) and the COVAX Facility (42.9 million doses).”
“In addition, a memoranda of understanding was done with the pharmaceutical company Pfizer to acquire 70 million doses -- 8.5 million doses by June 2021, with 2 million doses expected for the first quarter -- and with the pharmaceutical company Janssen, for the acquisition of 38 million doses, of these, 3 million doses for the second quarter of 2021,” the statement said.
ANVISA, Brazil’s health regulatory agency, has yet to officially authorize the use of any Covid-19 vaccine in Brazil.