RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Brazil has become one of the countries with the fastest coronavirus vaccination rates in the world, after a late and chaotic start that continues to weigh heavily on President Jair Bolsonaro.
Despite a world-renowned mass immunization system, the 213 million-strong country began its campaign in January, several weeks after the United States, most European countries and others such as Argentina and Chile.
At first, it progressed slowly and with interruptions, but then began to close the gap, with a resulting drop in the number of deaths: from a daily average of over 2,000 in June to fewer than 600 in September.
According to Our World in Data website, Brazil has become the country that has administered the fourth-most total doses (214 million), after China, India and the United States, as well as the country administering the third-most vaccines daily, at an average of 1.5 million in the past 7 days.
AHEAD OF THE USA
“The acceleration was visible from May-June, with the delivery and much more consistent supply of vaccines,” said Federal District Infectious Diseases Society president José David Urbáez. Brazil decided to focus on vaccination with the first dose, with longer intervals for the second dose to preserve stocks.
Over the past 3 months, the number of vaccinated Brazilians (with one dose) has almost tripled to 67.6% of the population, slightly higher than in the United States (63.4%) and Argentina (63.8%).
The fully immunized population stands at around 36%, a figure still much lower than that of other countries, but which places Brazil in 3rd place among the 10 most populous countries.
Four vaccines are currently being administered. The two most widely used are AstraZeneca and Coronavac, both produced in Brazil, as well as the imported Pfizer and Janssen (single-dose).
Notwithstanding the progress, there are continuing squabbles between the state and federal health authorities, on topics such as when to begin booster vaccines, and whether to vaccinate adolescents.
One point in its favor is that in Brazil the anti-vaccine movement is a minority: the vast majority of Brazilians want to be vaccinated, according to the latest surveys.