Brazil guarantees vaccines for everyone over 18, yet only 9% have been delivered

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Brazil reached a desired level of pandemic control last Tuesday, February 16th.

With the confirmation of the purchase of 54 million CoronaVac doses, produced by Sinovac Life Science pharmaceutical company in partnership with the Butantan Institute, the country has enough to immunize the whole population over 18 years of age. There are currently 162.8 million Brazilians over the age of 18, according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE).

Currently, the country has secured 354.9 million doses in 2021. Only the signed contracts were considered to determine this amount.

They are as follows: Butantan/Sinovac, with 100 million doses to be delivered by September; Fiocruz/AstraZeneca, with 212.4 million doses on contract by December; and the Covax Facility consortium with 42.5 million doses to be delivered by the end of the year, according to the Federal Government.

To administer two doses to the whole population, 325.6 million shots would be needed (there is also a slight difference when considering the 5% waste rate, around 16.28 million doses).

However, the number of doses physically available is much lower. A total of 31.9 million doses have already landed on national soil, 8.9% of the agreed total. Butantan has already delivered 9.8 million ready doses to the Ministry of Health’s National Immunization Program. The institute has enough supplies for another 17.3 million vaccines, which should be finished and bottled this month.

The Oswaldo Cruz Foundation has already received 2 million ready doses – delivered by the Ministry of Health for the whole country – and has enough supplies in its premises to prepare another 2.8 million vaccines.

Other negotiations

The Ministry of Health is considering other contractual options. Initially, these are 10 million doses of the Sputnik V, from the Russian Gamaleya Institute, and 20 million doses of the Covaxin, from India’s Bharat Biotech. The two vaccines have not yet been approved for use by Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency ANVISA, nor for trials. The Federal Government says it should sign the two contracts this week.

The Butantan Institute has also entered negotiations to buy another 20 million CoronaVac doses which would be delivered from September on. Fiocruz is preparing to buy another 10 million ready doses from the Serum Institute in India, responsible for the first delivery of the Oxford vaccine in Brazil, in January. Although the Ministry of Health considers the doses as “guaranteed”, members of Fiocruz are cautious about the issue – given that the first importation was marked by significant uncertainty as to whether or not the contract would be signed. However, efforts are underway.

Vaccination figures in the states and in the country updated at 6 PM on Wednesday, February 17th:

State / Available Doses / People vaccinated / % of state population vaccinated

Acre 52,660 12,934 1.5
Alagoas 150,060 76,743 2.3
Amapá 52,000 19,314 2.3
Amazonas 511,020 202,828 4.9
Bahia 682,300 378,843 2.5
Ceará 416,700 234,497 2.6
Federal District 185,060 111,028 3.7
Espírito Santo 191,220 101,331 2.5
Goiás 326.380 177.763 2,5
Maranhão 284.140 124.536 1,8
Mato Grosso 180,760 74,093 2.1
Mato Grosso do Sul 212,760 97,695 3.5
Minas Gerais 1,083,780 422,713 2.0
Pará 286,640 125,031 1.5
Paraíba 207,080 91,453 2.3
Paraná 499,300 257,305 2.3
Pernambuco 473,160 229,060 2.4
Piauí 121,800 61,826 1.9
Rio de Janeiro 955,520 405,925 2.4
Rio Grande do Norte 160,740 75,842 2.2
Rio Grande do Sul 651,000 360,476 3.2
Rondônia 99,000 37,502 2.1
Roraima 95,320 23,272 3.8
Santa Catarina 276,540 130,338 1.8
São Paulo 2,552,400 1,488,836 3.2
Sergipe 91,680 40,185 1.7
Tocantins 101,100 28,849 1.8

Brazil 10,900,120 5,390,218 2.6