A day after Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro told his health minister, a Chinese coronavirus vaccine was being tested’ in the country.
Eduardo
Pazuello, the third official in charge of the Ministry of Health since the
outbreak of the epidemic, under the supervision of Joao Doria, purchased a
coronary vaccine manufactured by China's Sinovac Biotech Limited in partnership
with the Butantan Institute in Sao Paulo. An agreement was announced’ for Bolsonaro's
main political enemy.
The
deal sparked negative comments from more Bolsonaro ideological supporters who
oppose buying the vaccine from China. On Wednesday morning, the president took
to social media to publicly reject the deal.
"Brazilians
were nobody's guinea pigs," he wrote on his Facebook and Twitter pages,
adding that billions of dollars could not be spent’ on drugs that are still
being tested. "My decision is not to take the vaccine."
A
spokesman for Sinovac declined to comment.
The
incident points to Bolsonaro’s controversial relationship with China, Brazil's
largest trading partner. After sharply criticizing the Asian country during the
2018 election campaign, he sought warmth from Chinese leader Xi Jinping during
a visit last year. But just a few months ago, lawmaker Eduardo Bolsonaro, his
son, accused the "Chinese dictatorship" of contracting the coronavirus. The president has also made his alliance with US President Donald Trump
a central part of his foreign policy.
"China
and Brazil have fully cooperated in controlling the epidemic," Chinese
Foreign Ministry spokesman Xiao Lijian said in a briefing on Thursday. He said
China's vaccine guides the world, and "once it is deployed and used, all
vaccines will be of great benefit to the public."
The
Coronavac's episode gave Bolsonaro the opportunity to hit two of his main goals
simultaneously. The president said his name was "Zhao Doria's Chinese
Vaccine". He said his government would not buy any vaccine before the
approval of the Ministry of Health and regulator Anvisa. Nevertheless, the
federal government has already allocated 2 billion ($357 million) for the
AstraZeneca shot a manufacturing contract in partnership with Oxford University,
which is in a similar trial phase.
Later
on Wednesday, Brazil's health ministry, Anvisa, said it had received
information that a Brazilian participant in the AstraZeneca case had died. A
person familiar with the matter said the volunteer had not received the actual
dose of the vaccine and the company said trials would continue.
Backtracking
Butantan
during a meeting between Doria and Pazuello on Tuesday. It has been decided’ to
sign a preliminary agreement to take 46 million doses of the Sinovac vaccine.
According to a statement issued after the meeting, the purchase would be made’
only after regulator Anvisa approved the drug.
After
Bolsonaro’s intervention, Doria told’ the president to stop fighting and focus
on epidemics. Other governors weighed in, along with leaders from the states of
Sierra and Espirito Santo, who say vaccine decisions will not involve
ideological or electoral issues.
Affected
Minister
Bolsonaro
and a handful of his ministers have already been infected’ with the virus. Pazuello
confirmed on Wednesday that he has also had a positive experience for Coved-19.
Brazil's
response to the virus has been met’ with controversy and conflict. Bolsonaro’s
two health ministers overcame differences this year over tackling the epidemic,
including lockdown measures and the use of untreated therapies. Doria and Bolsonaro
have also formally discussed everything from public to social distance to the
use of facemasks, and whether vaccines should be mandatory during a troubled
year.
Next
month's local elections have added to the public debate.
Coronavac
Earlier
this week, the Sao Paulo government said a Phase 3 trial for Coronavirus had
found that the vaccine was still the safest available, although its
effectiveness still needed to be proven.
The
synovial vaccine relies on an inactive version of the novel coronavirus to
teach the human immune system to recognize and destroy the real force. After
completing initial human testing in China, the company has begun the final
phase of human testing in Brazil and Indonesia.
Brazil has been one of the countries most affected by the virus, with the third and highest death toll in the world.
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