Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil’s president, announces his opposition to mandatory vaccination and that he will refuse the coronavirus vaccine, although he signed legislation in February that allows mandatory vaccination. Sources 1,2
• In São Paulo, which is expecting to receive 640 million doses of Coronavac by mid-January, Governor João Doria declares that he has “…guaranteed that the 45 million Brazilians here will be vaccinated, and the vaccine will be obligatory.” Sources 1,2
• In the US, coronavirus vaccine shortages may hinder ambitious roll-out plans. Last July, the Trump administration turned down an offer from Pfizer, which would have enabled the country to purchase more than 100 million additional doses of its coronavirus vaccine candidate. The company has notified US officials that it may not have more vaccine doses available until the summer of 2021, due to commitments to other countries (Pfizer has agreed to sell up to 300 million doses to the EU, 250 doses million to Canada, 120 million doses to Japan, 40 million doses to the UK, 10 million doses each to Australia and Chile, and 3 million doses to Costa Rica). Sources 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9
• Canada announces that Pfizer’s coronavirus will arrive next week; it will not be distributed before the country’s regulators authorize its use. Source
• Sinovac corrects its vaccine development partner, Indonesia’s PT Biopharma, after it announced that its coronavirus vaccine is 97% effective, confirming that the figure referred to the number of trial participants who developed an antibody response after vaccination (which doesn’t necessarily mean that it will protect people against COVID-19). The company plans to release efficacy data in January. Source
