Brasília – Brazil’s health regulator Anvisa approved the importation request of 2 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccines from federal government-affiliated biomedical center Fiocruz. Importing the doses prior to approval will enable vaccination to begin as soon as Anvisa okays its use, the regulator said.
Fiocruz is in charge of producing the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford in Brazil. The AstraZeneca vaccine to be imported is produced in India by the Serum Institute of India. The emergency use was approved there.
“The key requirement is that the imported vaccines remain under the care of Fiocruz until Anvisa okays its use in the country. Therefore, Fiocruz must ensure the storage and safety conditions to maintain their quality. According to Anvisa, the vaccines are set to arrive in Brazil later this month.
There are four vaccines with authorized research in the country, and Anvisa has studied the early data sent by the labs. But the agency says there hasn’t been any emergency use or registration request in Brazil.
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
