After a meeting with the Brazilian Ministry of Health on Thursday (14), city mayors say that the Minister of Health, Eduardo Pazuello, announced the start of vaccination against COVID-19 on January 20. The information was confirmed by Rafael Greca, mayor of Curitiba, capital of the state of Paraná, in an interview with the Globo/RPC television channel. Other mayors have also posted messages on the subject on their social networks. The Ministry of Health itself has not yet confirmed the information.
According to Greca, at the meeting with 170 mayors of Brazilian cities, Pazuello informed that the vaccination will start next Wednesday, at 10 am, in all Brazilian cities simultaneously. The stock of vaccines available at the moment would be 8 million doses, including doses of Astrazeneca, due to arrive from India next Saturday, and doses of Coronavac.
Mayor Gean Loureiro, from Florianópolis, capital of Santa Catarina, also posted on a social network that, “According to @ministropazuelo, next Monday the 2 million doses of Astrazeneca arrive. There are also 6 million of Coronavac. Anvisa releasing Sunday, distribute on Tuesday to start on Wednesday 20. That is: 8 million doses for January.”
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From India – The Brazilian Ministry of Health also said that a plane from the Azul airline will be used to bring two million doses of the Astrazeneca vaccine from India. The plane takes off to India from Viracopos airport, in Campinas (SP) this Thursday (14), and the vaccines arrive in Brazil next Saturday (16), at Galeão airport, in Rio de Janeiro.
The Airbus A330neo is the largest aircraft in the company’s fleet and was equipped to transport doses of vaccine. The doses of Astrazeneca / Oxford purchased by the government were produced by the Indian laboratory Serum and will be distributed, according to the government statement, within five days after Brazilian health regulator, Anvisa, authorization.
