Peru Says Negotiations to Secure Sinopharm Vaccine ‘Well Advanced’

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – (Reuters) Negotiations between Peru and China’s Sinopharm to purchase COVID-19 vaccines are “well advanced,” the government said on Tuesday, as the hard-hit Andean nation scrambles to lock down supplies to combat the virus.

The announcement comes just days after local authorities temporarily suspended a 12,000 participant trial for the Chinese firm´s vaccine after a volunteer fell ill. The case is still under investigation.

“The negotiations with … Sinopharm are well advanced, with {only} minor details to be verified,” Peruvian Foreign Minister Elizabeth Astete told a legislative commission.

Astete said Peru had also resumed conversions with AstraZeneca after cutting off negotiations in October when it alleged the British-Swedish company had not provided adequate data on its testing.

“We are very aware of the importance of entering into an agreement with AstraZeneca,” she said. The foreign minister did not offer further information about either deal, calling the negotiations confidential.

Peru has already signed agreements with Pfizer to buy 9.9 million doses of its vaccine and another with the Covax Facility, an alliance led by the World Health Organization, to acquire 13.2 million doses.

Coronavirus cases in Peru totaled 986,130 as of Monday, with 36,754 having died from the disease, according to official figures.