 |
| Employees inspect vials containing CoronaVac, Sinovac Biotech's vaccine against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), at Butantan biomedical production center in Sao Paulo, Brazil January 12, 2021.(File photo by=REUTERS/Amanda Perobelli) |
[Asia News Communication = Reporter Reakkana] Brazil aims to begin nationwide COVID-19 vaccinations on Jan 20, the head of the national mayor's association said on Thursday (Jan 14), as Britain banned arrivals from the country over fears of a new homegrown coronavirus variant.
President Jair Bolsonaro, who has been criticized for downplaying the severity of the world's second-deadliest COVID-19 outbreak, is under mounting pressure to begin vaccinations as the second wave of infections surpasses the first. Jonas Donizetti, the president of the national mayor's association, said in a statement on Thursday that vaccinations would begin on Wednesday if all goes as the government plans.
"If it's not on the 20th, for whatever logistical problem, it will be on Thursday 21," he wrote. "Inoculations will begin with 8 million doses, distributed to 5 million Brazilians."The government is planning a Jan 19 ceremony to mark the start of inoculations, according to a source involved in the plan. While the government has declined to give an official start date for vaccinations, it has said inoculations couldn’t begin before Jan 20. The Health Ministry didn’t respond to a request for comment. Two vaccines, AstraZeneca Plc and China's Sinovac Biotech - will form the bedrock of the government's vaccination plan. Both have applied for emergency use in Brazil, with health regulator Anvisa expected to decide on Sunday whether to authorize them.
