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Brazil joined COVAX Facility; but approval of emergency use of vaccines in 5 days is vetoed by president

President Jair Bolsonaro approves Brazil's adhesion to the COVAX Facility, but vetoes rule for Anvisa to approve emergency use of vaccines in five daysBrazil joined the COVAX Facility; but approval of emergency use of vaccines in five days is vetoed by president

Students from the public school system in the Brazilian state of Bahia undergo COVID-19 tests
Photo: Secretaria de Educação da Bahia/Fotos Públicas

Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro approved the bill that authorizes Brazil to join the COVAX Facility, the World Health Organization (WHO) global initiative to ensure rapid and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines for all countries. The law came into force on Tuesday 2nd.

With the measure, the Federal Government informed that it will allocate BRL 2.5 billion for the acquisition of vaccines against COVID-19. According to the Ministry of Health, Brazil will receive 42 million doses via COVAX.

READ ALSO: Brazilian health secretaries ask for a national curfew to contain COVID-19

Despite having approved the bill, President Jair Bolsonaro vetoed the rule that determined a period of five days for Brazilian regulator Anvisa to approve the emergency use of any vaccine already authorized by foreign regulators.

According to the Federal Government, the rule was vetoed because it violated the president’s competence and also hindered technical analysis on the vaccine’s safety, quality and efficacy by Anvisa.

READ ALSO: Colombia is the first country in the Americas to receive vaccines via COVAX

Currently, Anvisa takes 10 days to evaluate the emergency use of an immunizer. So far, Anvisa has granted definitive registration only for the Pfizer vaccine; Coronavac and AstraZeneca are only authorized for emergency use.

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