Brazil signed a $127 million deal with AstraZeneca on Saturday, to locally produce the COVID-19 vaccine that has been green signalled for trials. This company’s vaccine is gaining demand globally, as they have already signed a deal with the EU to deliver 400 million doses. According to WHO, this company has become the first to ever have a licensed vaccine formula for the disease thus far.
The British drug maker is already carrying out large-scale, mid-stage human trials of the vaccine, which was developed by researchers at Oxford University.
This vaccine is to be produced locally by Brazil’s Fundação Osvaldo Cruz, also known as Fiocruz, which is the country’s biggest pharma company. Speaking about this, Elcio Franco, Brazil’s No.2 public health official, said in a statement that an agreement has been signed for producing 30 million doses of the vaccine locally by the government. He added that it has been made fully clear while making the payment that another vaccine might potentially be licensed that might have better results.
This comes at a time when the government has been heavily criticised for their delayed response to the pandemic as well as the President’s indifference. The latter has also been criticised heavily for forcing people to consume hydroxychloroquine when the WHO has specifically advised against its mass consumption as a preventive drug.
Meanwhile, Brazil stands second in the world with a record number of 1.5 million cases and more than 55,000 deaths.