Brazil Rejects Russian Covid-19 Vaccine

04/28/2021

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Samantha Pearson and Jeffrey T. Lewis | Wall Street Journal

SÃO PAULO—Brazilian health authorities have blocked the importation of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine, citing a lack of reliable data on its safety and efficacy, raising questions over a shot that is in use around the world to contain the Covid-19 pandemic.

In a unanimous decision, the five directors of Anvisa, Brazil’s health agency, voted not to recommend importing the vaccine after its researchers reported flaws in product development in all stages of the vaccine’s clinical studies.

First authorized for use in Russia in August, Sputnik has been approved for use in 62 countries, mostly in the developing world, with a combined population of more than three billion people. Among the countries that have been administering the vaccine are Argentina, Mexico, Algeria and Serbia.

Anvisa said in its decision late Monday that it also had concerns about the mass production of the vaccine, saying a lack of quality control during manufacturing could result in potentially dangerous variations between shipments of the shot.

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