Brazil calls on countries to share spare Covid-19 vaccines

More than 1bn doses of coronavirus (Covid-19) vaccines have been administered worldwide, less than f

• Brazil Senate votes to suspend patent protection on coronavirus vaccines Countries should share spare vaccine doses with Brazil to help the global fight against the coronavirus (Covid-19) and meet the battered country’s goal of inoculating all citizens by year-end, Brazilian Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga said yesterday. Speaking to a World Health Organisation (WHO) briefing, Queiroga said that Brazil had administered 41mn vaccine doses but needed more supplies to meet a daily target of 2.4mn. “We need to ensure equitable access to Covid-19 vaccines, and in line with this, we would like to call on those countries with extra doses to share them with Brazil as soon as possible so we can also broaden our vaccination campaign and contain the pandemic at this critical time, and avoid the proliferation of new variants,” Queiroga said. Brazil on Thursday became the second country to pass 400,000 Covid-19 deaths after the United States. Experts warned the daily toll could remain high for several months due to a slow vaccination rate and loosening social restrictions. Brazil registered 3,001 new Covid-19 deaths on that day. Experts have blamed the death toll on the failure of government – from President Jair Bolsonaro down to many state governors and mayors – to launch a robust response to the pandemic. “We hope by the end of this year we will have vaccinated the entire population,” Queiroga said. The Russian developer of the Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine said on Thursday that it would sue the Brazilian health regulator Anvisa for defamation, prompting a stern rebuttal from the agency. Anvisa’s board on Monday denied requests by Brazilian states to approve Sputnik V for import. The agency’s manager for medicines and biological products, Gustavo Mendes, said that there was evidence an adenovirus used in the vaccine could reproduce, which he called a “serious” defect. Queiroga said Anvisa could withstand external as well as internal pressure. Bolsonaro had spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese officials about their respective Covid-19 vaccines, he said, adding: “They are nations that we are friendly with, and as soon as they (vaccines) are approved we can include them in our immunisation programme”. On Thursday Brazil’s Senate approved a bill to suspend patent protection for Covid-19 vaccines, tests and medications during the pandemic, sending the proposal to the lower house of Congress for consideration and possible amendments. It remains unclear if lower house lawmakers will pass the bill, with implications for pharmaceutical firms such as AstraZeneca and China’s Sinovac Biotech, which have arranged local production of their vaccines. US firm Pfizer also made its first delivery of vaccines to Brazil on Thursday evening. The Bolsonaro government has publicly opposed proposals to suspend patent protections, arguing that such a move could endanger talks with vaccine producers. “We can’t remain passively watching, day after day, 3,000 to 5,000 deaths. The opportunity is there, we must do our part,” said Senator Nelsinho Trad, one of the backers of the bill. The bill was passed by 55 votes in favour, and 19 against. According to the proposal, patent holders would be obliged to provide authorities with all the information needed to produce vaccines and medicines. Then, if the government were to call a state of emergency, they could be produced locally under a licensing agreement. The objective, according to Senator Paulo Paim, who drafted the bill, is to streamline vaccine production in order to accelerate inoculations. Neither the president’s office nor health ministry immediately responded to requests for comment.