Brazilian States Begin Distributing Oxford Vaccine Doses to Cities

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Brazilian states have now received the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine doses released on Saturday, January 23rd, by Fiocruz (Oswaldo Cruz Foundation). Some began distribution to municipalities yesterday, while others reported that they will be delivering the doses this week.

Paraná

Paraná was the first state to begin distribution to its hinterland and coastal cities yesterday and delivery was completed in eight hours. All 85,500 doses sent to the state have already reached the 22 regional healthcare units and immunization is expected to begin on Monday January 25th, in the municipalities.

“Distributed in record time, less than eight hours, this second batch will allow the 399 municipalities of Paraná to begin administering the immunizers against Covid-19 from 8 AM on Monday, in all 1,850 vaccination sites throughout the state,” said the State Health Secretariat on its website.

Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro, Fiocruz’ headquarters state, was the first to receive its doses and has announced that it will begin distribution to cities on Monday. Moreover, the state’s Undersecretary of Health Surveillance said that all doses will be immediately administered, given that the second dose of the vaccine may be administered in up to 90 days, sufficient time for a new production.

According to the state government, the State Health Secretariat (SES) is prepared to deliver the vaccines to municipalities by morning, by air and land.

“A major operation has been set up so that all cities may begin this new vaccination phase as soon as they receive the doses and the Secretariat’s technical recommendations received from the Ministry,” said the government of Rio de Janeiro in a statement.

São Paulo

São Paulo, the state that received the largest batch (501.000), has not yet been able to set a date to begin distribution The State Health Secretariat only said that it will be done later this week. The state received its doses in two flights and forwarded them to the Secretariat’s distribution center, in the neighborhood of Pinheiros.

“The schedules will be planned by the State Immunization Plan’s (PEI) technical team in São Paulo to be sent to regions during the week, aiming to supply all 645 municipalities,” the Secretariat reported.

Bahia Governor Rui Costa (PT) also confirmed on Twitter the start of distribution to cities on Sunday and urged the federal government to expedite the purchase and shipment of new doses.

“By providing a broad early immunological response, ensuring that the deadline for administering the second dose could be extended from 90 to 120 days, this will enable us to administer all doses without having to save 50%, as occurred with the CoronaVac,” detailed Health Secretary Fábio Vilas-Boas.

Mato Grosso do Sul

Mato Grosso do Sul Governor Reinaldo Azambuja (PSDB) also announced the immediate distribution of the state’s doses to all 79 municipalities. “I ordered immediate distribution, as was done in the first batch, so that the doses will quickly reach the 79 cities in our state, thereby ensuring continuity of vaccination of the population,” he said on his Twitter.

Piauí

Piauí also began distribution yesterday, according to the state Health Secretary, Florentino Neto. “The same procedure we had in the first shipment will be employed. From now on, our Health Secretariat vehicles will take the vaccine doses to the Cocais, Carnaubais and Entre Rios territories. We will also deliver them to the Municipal Health Foundation of Teresina and, tomorrow, from 6 AM to Parnaíba, Floriano, Picos, Bom Jesus and São Raimundo Nonato so that by 10 AM we can deliver the vaccines to all regions in the State of Piauí,” he said.

Other states such as Rio Grande do Sul, Pernambuco, and Rio Grande do Norte confirmed that they would start distribution to other cities on Monday.

Total doses per state are as follows:

Rio de Janeiro – 185,000
São Paulo – 501,960
Ceará – 72,500
Amazonas – 132,500
Roraima – 4,000
Alagoas – 27,500
Pernambuco – 84,000
Paraná – 86,500
Sergipe – 19,000
Federal District – 41,500
Goiás – 65.500
Santa Catarina – 47,500
Rio Grande do Sul – 116,000
Paraíba – 36.000
Espírito Santo – 35,500
Bahia – 119,500
Mato Grosso – 24.000
Rondônia – 13.000
Acre – 5,500
Mato Grosso do Sul – 22,000
Tocantins – 11,500
Maranhão – 48,500
Piauí – 24.000
Pará – 49,000
Amapá – 6.000
Minas Gerais – 190,500
Rio Grande do Norte – 31,500

A total of 1,999,960 doses are set for distribution. The Ministry of Health commented on the reason for a 40 dose reduction compared to the total announced. According to the advisory, the 40 doses would be the “estimated loss” – a concept related to what could be lost due to theft, losses or transport.

These doses were produced by the Indian Serum Laboratory and bought by the Ministry of Health. In the future, Fiocruz should produce the vaccine in its laboratories in Brazil.

In addition to the two million doses distributed yesterday, six million doses of the CoronaVac vaccine, imported from China by the Butantan Institute, linked to the government of São Paulo, have already been provided to the states.