Brazil let 70m COVID-19 shots get away and sealed its fate
By Julia Leite, Andrew Rosati and Simone Iglesias / Bloomberg
In August last year, when Brazil had emerged as among the worst-hit nations by the COVID-19 pandemic, Pfizer Inc offered the Brazilian Ministry of Health to set aside as many as 70 million doses of the vaccine it was developing. It got no answer. So it made the offer again. And then a third time.
The next month, the company’s former Brazil head, Carlos Murillo, told the Brazilian Congress that Pfizer’s global chief put the offer in writing to Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro with copies to the vice president, chief of staff, ministers of health and economy, and ambassador to the US.
BBC News
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image captionProtesters in Brasilia carried a huge puppet of Jair Bolsonaro
Protests are taking place across Brazil over the management of the Covid-19 crisis by the government of President Jair Bolsonaro.
In the capital, Brasilia, thousands of people gathered in front of Congress calling for the president s impeachment, and demanding more vaccines.
Demonstrations are taking place in several other major cities, including Rio de Janeiro.
Mr Bolsonaro s popularity has plummeted over his response to the pandemic.
Brazil has registered nearly 460,000 deaths - the second highest toll in the world after the US. It also has the third highest number of coronavirus cases at more than 16 million.
Last August, when Brazil had emerged as among the worst hit nations by Covid, Pfizer Inc. offered the health ministry to set aside as many as 70 million doses of the vaccine it was developing. It got no answer. So it made the offer again. And then a third time.