El Economista

Pfizer is having a difficult time registering its COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use in Brazil due to the level of detail required by the regulator, Health Minister Eduardo Pazuello said Thursday.

Pazuello indicated that Pfizer had presented several demands to close the deal to supply the vaccine to Brazil, including a liability waiver in the country.

"We are thinking about accepting," Pazuello told senators at a hearing to discuss the vaccines.

Pfizer said it was in talks with the Health Ministry but did not comment on the process with the National Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA). The regulator did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Brazil expects to receive about 24 million COVID-19 vaccines by January, Pazuello said.

The minister added that Brazil expects Pfizer to provide 500,000 of those doses next month, China's Sinovac to contribute 9 million doses, and AstraZeneca to provide 15 million doses. Brazil expects to receive 37.7 million vaccine doses in February, and another 31 million doses will arrive in March, Pazuello added.