Brazil Signs Contract to Purchase 100 Million Doses of AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] Brazil has reportedly signed a contract to purchase 100 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine from the British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca. Brazil is also planning to receive the vaccine production technology from AstraZeneca in the future.

According to foreign media including the Associated Press on the 1st (local time), the Brazilian Ministry of Health announced that it signed a contract the day before to purchase 100 million doses of the vaccine being jointly developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford. A Ministry of Health official explained that the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca is currently undergoing Phase 3 clinical trials, and once development is complete, the first batch of 15 million doses is expected to be supplied to Brazil in December.

Furthermore, the Ministry of Health projected that the second batch of 15 million doses will arrive in January next year, and from March, the remaining 70 million doses will be delivered to Brazil sequentially. The contract reportedly also includes the transfer of vaccine production technology from AstraZeneca to Brazil’s medical institution, the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz).

Earlier, in S?o Paulo state, Brazil, Phase 3 clinical trials of the COVID-19 vaccine jointly developed with the Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac began on the 21st of last month. Jo?o Doria, Governor of S?o Paulo, stated that if the Phase 3 trials are successful, vaccine production will start within this year, and vaccinations will begin from January next year.