Brazil has asked the Chinese embassy to help it purchase 30 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to ensure that its immunization program goes ahead, according to a document to the that Reuters had access to.

In a letter sent to the Chinese ambassador to Brazil, Yang Wanming, a senior official from the Ministry of Health asked for help with the potential purchase and delivery of the vaccines from the Sinopharm laboratory during the first half of the year.

According to the letter written by Elcio Franco, the executive secretary of the Ministry of Health, Brazil’s vaccination program is in jeopardy if it cannot access more doses.

So far Brazil, which has the second highest number of coronavirus deaths in the world, has vaccinated only about 4% of its population.

“The immunization campaign is at risk due to a lack of doses, in view of the shortage of international supplies. Therefore, the Ministry of Health has been seeking to make contact with new suppliers, in particular with Sinopharm, whose vaccine has been shown to be effective against COVID-19,” Franco said in the letter.

Until now, Brazil has relied on supplies of the Chinese Coronavac vaccine, made by Sinovac, and doses from AstraZeneca Plc, developed in conjunction with the University of Oxford.

Last week, Brazil said it plans to buy 100 million doses this year of the vaccine from Pfizer Inc and 38 million injections from Janssen, the pharmaceutical unit of Johnson & Johnson.

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