Brazil, the country with the second highest number of cases and deaths from coronavirus, has reached an agreement with the United Kingdom to produce the covid-19 vaccine developed by hima Oxford University and AstraZeneca Plc.
Brazil will spend US $ 287 million on the purchase of doses of vaccines and ingredients for up to 100 million injections that it will be able to produce in the country with the transfer of technology, reported the executive secretary of the Ministry of Health, Elcio Franco, at a press conference in Brasilia.
The first order, regardless of the final results of the vaccine’s clinical trials, will cost Brazil $ 127 million, Franco said. This includes 30.4 million doses to be delivered in December and January, as well as technology transfer.
“The investigation risk that we are assuming is necessary given the urgency of an effective solution to maintain public health and resume economic growth,” he added.
After the vaccine’s efficacy is proven, an additional 70 million doses will be produced at Fundaçao Oswaldo Cruz, known as Fiocruz, and the Bio-Manguinhos Institute of Immunology at a cost of $ 160 million.
Brazil reported 1,109 new deaths on Saturday, bringing the death toll to 57,070, while the number of cases increased by 38,693 to 1.31 million, making it the country with the highest number of cases after the US. USA
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