CNN Brasil reported that the Brazilian Ministry of Health is ready to start negotiations on the acquisition of the Russian Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine for further use as part of the national population immunisation programme
According to the TV channel, Elcio Franco, first deputy head of the ministry, has sent a corresponding letter last week to the management of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and its Brazilian partner – the pharmaceutical company Uni o Quimica. The document, quoted by CNN Brasil, says the ministry has “great interest” in the Russian drug and that the Ministry of Health is ready “to begin formal commercial negotiations with the company about the possibility of purchasing batches of the vaccine in order to expand the supply of vaccines for the Brazilian population as soon as possible”.
The inoculation campaign against the coronavirus was launched in Brazil on 18 January. So far, Chinese company Sinovac Biotech and British-Swedish company AstraZeneca have been used to immunize the population against COVID-19.