Covid-19 in Brazil: hundreds of NGOs and companies unite to speed up vaccination

A 90-year-old Brazilian receives a dose of AstraZeneca / Oxford's vaccine against Covid-19, in a remote reserve near Manaus, on February 9, 2021. REUTERS - Bruno Kelly

Text by: RFI Follow

2 min

Brazil has already vaccinated 4 million people against Covid-19, but this only corresponds to 2% of the population.

About 400 companies and NGOs then created the movement "United for the vaccine" in order to vaccinate and protect the population as quickly as possible, and to overcome the controversies that have transformed the vaccine into a political debate.

Publicity

Read more

With our correspondent in São Paulo

,

Martin Bernard

The “Unidos pela vacina” (“United for the vaccine”) initiative aims to help ensure that the vaccination campaign runs as smoothly as possible, particularly in terms of logistics in a country of 212 million inhabitants and

on continental dimensions

.

The collective, which presents itself

as " 

apolitical

 "

, also wants to allow nursing staff to work in good conditions and to identify logistical deficiencies in

disadvantaged neighborhoods

and isolated regions.

“ 

During the first phase of the pandemic, Brazil escaped social chaos thanks to the union between business leaders and NGOs, such as the United Central of Favelas (Cufa), for example

, explains Renato Meirelles, president of the Locomotiva Institute, which is part of the initiative.

Now with the second wave, it is clear that we can only get by with a massive vaccination campaign, and once again companies are joining NGOs, who are the ones who know what is going on in the neighborhoods. disadvantaged.

 "

The

vaccination started relatively late

in Brazil, and there are still a

few doses

available.

"United for the vaccine" wants to speed up the vaccination program and reach all Brazilians by September.

An ambitious goal: several researchers estimated that, if the vaccination campaign continues at the current rate, it would take more than four years to immunize the entire Brazilian population.

► 

To read also: Covid-19: “Butantan”, the Brazilian anthem of MC Fioti for the Coronavac vaccine

Newsletter

Receive all the international news directly in your mailbox

I subscribe

Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application

google-play-badge_FR

  • Brazil

  • Coronavirus

  • NGO

  • Vaccines

On the same subject

Covid-19 in Brazil: overwhelmed by the Amazon variant, Manaus evacuates his patients

Brazil: the vaccine war between Jair Bolsonaro and the State of São Paulo

Interview

"Manaus has become the world capital of Covid-19"