Such announcement surprised governors who had scheduled a meeting this Wednesday with Health Minister Eduardo Pazuello, who invited them at Planalto Palace, seat of Presidency, for the launch ceremony of the program.
Amid pressure, the Ministry of Health informed that it predicts to vaccinate risk groups and the «population in general» against the pathogen in about 16 months after the vaccine is approved, according to extracts from the vaccination plan.
After the vaccine is registered or its emergency use is authorized, its distribution to the 26 states and the Federal District «will take up to five days,» Pazuello said in a document on the program requested by the Federal Supreme Court (STF).
On Monday, STF Judge Ricardo Lewandowski ordered the government to report on the start and end of the vaccination plan.
The vaccine, called Ad26.COV2-S, is developed by US pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson. This is one of the four medicines authorized by the Brazilian Health Surveillance Agency to be tested (Phase three) in Brazilian volunteers.
To date, Brazil has reported 182,854 deaths and 6,974,258 cases from the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, causing Covid-19.
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