Brazil health agency approves use of two vaccines

Brazil's health regulator on Sunday approved the urgent use of coronavirus vaccines made by Sinovac and AstraZeneca. Brazil currently has 6 million doses of Sinovac's CoronaVac vaccine ready to distribute in the next few days, and is awaiting the arrival of another 2 million doses of the vaccine made by the UK's Oxford University and pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca.

On Saturday night, the health  regulator rejected an application for use of a Russian vaccine called Sputnik V, submitted by Brazilian company, saying it didn't evaluate the application because it did not meet minimum requirements to start an analysis. Vaccination in Brazil is beginning later than neighboring countries Argentina and Chile. The vaccination program by the federal government will begin on Wednesday, the Health Minister said in a news conference shortly after the vaccine's approval. The priority in the program will first be health professionals and those the front line of the fight against coronavirus.