Brazil Negotiates Chartering Planes to Bring Oxford Vaccine from India

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Amid criticism for the delay in setting the “D-Day” for the start of vaccination, the Brazilian government is negotiating chartering airplanes to collect the doses of the first Oxford vaccines to be administered in Brazil and also supplies for the production of new immunizers against Covid.

The plan is to send two Boeing aircraft to bring the material. One of them would fly to India to collect the two million ready doses to be delivered by the Serum Institute, one of the centers linked to AstraZeneca to produce the Oxford vaccine.

The other would fly to China to collect the raw material to be used for the production of the other doses in Brazil, through Fiocruz, which has an agreement with the pharmaceutical company.

Members of the Ministry of Health expect the plane that will pick up the ready doses to leave by Friday, January 15th. Fiocruz has officially reported that the vaccines are expected to arrive “next week”.

Despite the plan, the government has not yet settled all the logistics details nor has it chosen the company to make the trip. The intention is to use commercial flights, which planes would be faster than those of the Brazilian Air Force (FAB).

While this search is not completed, a team from the Ministry is preparing publicity materials to divulge the arrival of vaccines in Brazil. The group is considering placing a logo on the aircraft and using the message “We are all one nation”, the slogan used in the announcement of the national vaccination plan.

Governors believe that the Ministry is rushing to bring the cargo in an attempt to start the immunization with the doses from AstraZeneca, before governor João Doria begins vaccination in São Paulo with the Butantan vaccine – which should now also be part of the federal plan. However, both vaccines still need ANVISA approval to be administered. The agency is currently analyzing emergency use applications from both laboratories.

Negotiations for Fiocruz to import the two million ready doses began in December. At the time, the governor of São Paulo had already announced that he intended to start vaccination in the state on January 25th, while the Ministry still had no date scheduled for the national campaign.

The measure was the alternative found by the government to advance the start of its strategy with the Oxford vaccine, one of the government’s main bets for mass vaccination.

Until then, Fiocruz was planning to deliver, on February 8th, the first doses in a deal involving the production of 100.4 million doses in the first semester.

With the imported doses, the Ministry of Health expects that vaccination can begin around January 20th. Failing to specify exact dates, Minister of Health Eduardo Pazuello said on Monday, January 11th, that the strategy should start “on D-day”.

According to Fiocruz, the doses should come through the Galeão airport in Rio de Janeiro. On the same day, they will proceed to the foundation’s Biomanguinhos laboratory for labeling. The following day, they will be sent for distribution in the country, which should take between four and five days, according to the Ministry.

In a note, the foundation also says it is waiting for information from AstraZeneca and the regulatory authorities in China, which have specific protocols for exporting the cargo, to confirm the date of arrival of the first supplies to produce the vaccine also in Brazil.

With the start of production, deliveries should occur in a phased form, says the foundation. The expectation is to reach the mark of 50 million doses by April and 100.4 million doses by July 2021.

Commercial companies have volunteered to help in the distribution of vaccines as soon as the country gets the first doses. In addition, the FAB will also assist with aircraft.

Brazil relied on the help of commercial airlines last year when going to China to collect PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) kits. Now the partnership will be repeated.

Although there are two million doses to be brought to Brazil, according to members of the Ministry of Health, the shipment is limited. Around seven pallets would be enough to carry the material. According to the portfolio’s experts, attention to storage conditions is required – the Oxford vaccine requires temperatures ranging between 2ºC and 8ºC.

The Coronavac vaccines, produced by the Butantan laboratory, were flown to Brazil in a Turkish Airlines Boeing 777F, for instance.

The aircraft that brought the first 120,000 doses of the immunizer reached Brazil on November 19th, after taking off from China and making stops in Turkey and the United States before landing at Guarulhos airport in São Paulo. The goods traveled in a cabin cooled to -8ºC. The logistics and coordination for the Turkish flights to bring the vaccines were handled by the São Paulo government.