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BRASILIA, July 2 (Reuters) - At least 26,000 out-of-date
AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine shots have been
administered in Brazil, newspaper Folha de S.Paulo reported on
Friday, citing Health Ministry data.
The report represents the latest blow to Brazil's vaccine
rollout, which has faced widespread criticism. The government
was slow to buy vaccines, and is now dealing with an alleged
corruption scandal surrounding its procurement efforts.
Expired vaccine doses can be less effective. In Africa, a
number of countries have found themselves with batches that have
passed their shelf life sparking a debate over extending expiry
dates. Malawi destroyed in May nearly 20,000 doses which had
expired.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has so far declined to
take a vaccine and has sowed doubts about inoculations, pushed
unproven miracle cures and underplayed the severity of a
pandemic that has killed over a half a million Brazilians.
According to the report, the expired vaccines came from
batches imported from India by the public Fiocruz biomedical
institute, or acquired through the Pan American Health
Organization (PAHO).
Neither the Health Ministry, Fiocruz nor PAHO immediately
responded to requests for comment. The Serum Institute of India,
which made the shots, also did not immediately reply.
The AstraZeneca vaccine is one of the two dominant COVID-19
shots in Brazil, alongside China's CoronaVac.
(Reporting by Ricardo Brito; additional reporting by Stephen
Eisenhammer; writing by Gabriel Stargardter; Editing by Aurora
Ellis)
