Private clinics in Brazil agrees for Indian COVID-19 vaccine

On Monday, Brazil made a diplomatic push to guarantee Indian-made shipments of British drugmaker AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine, which could be expected to evade immunity by delaying export restrictions during the world's second-deadliest outbreak is.

Private clinics in Brazil struck an initial agreement for alternative injections performed by Bharat Biotech of India regardless of the lack of public results from late-stage trials.

Grappling by the Brazilian government and the private sector underscores how Latin America's largest nation, once an example of mass vaccination success in the developing world, fell behind peers in the race to vaccinate against coronavirus has gone.

The head of the government-funded biomedical center stated that in the second week in February, plans were made by the Turquoise Institute of Brazil to bulk, replenish and eliminate AstraZeneca's vaccine, which would only contain 1 million doses.

Growing criticism of its slow response and one death approaching 200,000, is second only to the United States, with Brazil now running to import finished supplements, playing catches to neighboring Chile and Argentina where vaccination is ongoing .

However, the chief executive of the Serum Institute of India told that he expected the government of India to restrict the export of COVID-19 vaccines.

Red flags were raised in Brasilia, where health regulator Invest approved on New Year's Eve to import two million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine from India.

Sources stated diplomats were working to confirm that the shipment would not be affected by any export restrictions. FiroCruz confirmed that Brazil's foreign ministry is leading the negotiations.

Separately, a consortium of private Brazilian clinics announced plans to purchase five million doses of a vaccine developed by the Indian company Bharat Biotech, a day after India's health regulator approved it for emergency use.

Bharat Biotech has not yet applied for affirmation by Brazilian health regulator Avisa for its covaxine vaccine, and the agency said it would undergo three trials in the nation.

Geraldo Barbosa, head of the Brazilian Association of Vaccine Clinics (ABCVAC), who will lead the delegation leaving for India on Monday, said a memorandum of understanding has already been signed with India Biotech.

"It should be the first vaccine available on the private market in Brazil," he said, adding that the dose of covaxin should arrive in Brazil in mid-March, to be sold by private clinics as vaccines are approved after regulators.

In a statement on Sunday, Envisa stated, covaxin does not fit into the continuous data submission process for vaccine registration and the vaccine would have to undergo late-stage clinical trials in Brazil.

On Sunday, India's drug regulator DCGI approved Covaxin and AstraZeneca vaccines for emergency use in India- which is the first vaccine approval in India.

The fast-tracking of the homegrown biotech vaccine faced questions from industry experts and opposition legislators as the company has not published effective date.

Covaxin is undergoing late-stage examinations the biggest such trial in India. A spokesman for Bharat Biotech declared that 24,000 volunteers have been placed for the phase three trial with an agenda of 26,000, which started in November 2020.

The pharmaceutical company based in Hyderabad, South India, makes millions of vaccines for hepatitis, zika, Japanese encephalitis and other diseases.