Coronavirus in Brazil: two vaccines approved, one nurse vaccinated
Monica Calazans, 54, is the first Brazilian vaccinated against Covid-19.
REUTERS - AMANDA PEROBELLI
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2 min
In Brazil, one of the countries most affected by the coronavirus in the world, two vaccines were approved by the health regulatory agency yesterday, Sunday, January 17, and, in the process, a first Brazilian was vaccinated.
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From our correspondent in Sao Paulo
,
Martin Bernard
Fist raised, a nurse in work clothes smiles under the crackling flashes.
She has just received the vaccine against
Covid-19
, just after its approval by the health authorities.
“
Me, Monica Calazans, 54, black, research program participant, and the first to be vaccinated,
” she says.
►Also read: Covid-19 in Brazil: São Paulo places its hopes in the Sinovac vaccine
This volunteer received the only vaccine currently available in Brazil, CoronaVac, from the Chinese company Sinovac.
The other vaccine approved by the regulatory agency, manufactured by Astra Zeneca, in partnership with the University of Oxford, has not yet been imported by the Brazilian government.
The Brazilian government hoped to finalize the import of two million doses of the vaccine from India this weekend, but the Indian government, which began a massive campaign on Saturday, has not yet given the green light.
210,000 dead in the country
The state of São Paulo has already sent, symbolically, 50,000 vaccines to Manaus, hard hit by the pandemic which has already killed 210,000 people and has infected more than 8 million others.
The official vaccination campaign is due to begin in earnest on Wednesday, across Brazil.
Health Minister Eduardo Pazuello stresses that Brazil will have to focus on local production to less depend on imports.
For the moment, the Latin American giant only has 6 million doses of vaccine, while its population stands at 210 million.
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Coronavirus
Brazil
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