THE state of Sao Paolo in Brazil has signed an agreement with Sinovac Biotech of China for the supply of 46 million dose of vaccine against COVID-19 with the per unit cost just a fraction of those being offered by ‘Big Pharma’ such as Pfizer and Modesta.
In an article that appeared last month at the ‘Global Times’ a Chinese English daily newspaper identified with the Chinese government, Sao Paolo governor João Doria confirmed the deal with Sinovac worth US$ 90 million.
“The contract Doria announced also contemplates the transfer of technology of the inactivated vaccine, called Coronavac, from Chinese to Brazilian institutes, and would be produced entirely at the Butantan Institute next year,” the article stated, adding:
“The moment was considered “historic” by the governor. “Sao Paulo will be one of the first places in the world to vaccinate the public,” said Doria, local media reported.
“Sao Paulo, the richest and most populous state in the country, with about 46 million inhabitants, is the region of Brazil most affected by the pandemic, with over 979,000 cases of infection and 35,000 deaths, according to the Ministry of Health.
The 46 million doses will be available to Brazil by December 2020, 6 million of which will be ready in October, and the remaining 40 million to be produced at Butantan.
“Sinovac has also pledged to provide another 14 million doses, which should arrive by February next year, according to the statement released by the Butantan Institute.”
Although Sinovac disagreed with the announcement of Doria that the vaccine would cost only $1.96 per shot, given that the cost of transport for each is already estimated at $2.00, the final price, estimated at a minimum of $5.00 (P250.00), this is still just a fraction of the cost of the vaccine being offered by Pfizer and Modesta that ranged from $30.00 to $70.00 for shot (P1,500 to P3,500), thus offering tremendous savings to the state of Sao Paolo.