Brazil probes Health Ministry deal to buy Covaxin vaccine
Brazil’s federal prosecutor’s office is investigating possible irregularities in a Health Ministry contract to purchase 20 million doses of the Covaxin vaccine manufactured by Indian laboratory Bharat Biotech
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Brazil s federal prosecutor’s office is investigating possible irregularities in a Health Ministry contract to purchase 20 million doses of the Covaxin vaccine manufactured by Indian laboratory Bharat Biotech.
The agreement signed in February commits the ministry to pay $320 million - at a cost of $15 per vaccine dose - to Precisa Medicamentos, the representative of Bharat Biotech in Brazil, according to a document sent to The Associated Press by the attorney general's press office.
The price per dose, which was higher than for other COVID-19 vaccines, drew prosecutors attention along with ministry officials apparently ignoring a history of alleged irregularities by Precisa associates in previous contracts with the federal government.
Precisa said in a statement the vaccine price agreed to with Brazil's Health Ministry was the same as the price negotiated with 13 other countries and that the deal “followed all formal paths and was carried out transparently.”
Federal prosecutor Luciana Loureiro Oliveira said in a document signed on June 16 that three years ago Precisa associates, through another company, entered a contract with the Health Ministry for the sale of medicines that were never delivered.
Oliveira wrote that the ministry signed a purchase contract for the Bharat Biotech vaccine even though it had not been approved by Brazil's health agency, Anvisa, and that other already-approved vaccines were on the market at lower prices.
“The history of irregularities involving Precisa partners and the high price paid for the contracted doses require a thorough investigation in both civil and criminal matters,” Oliveira wrote.
Francisco Maximiano, a Precisa shareholder, was to appear Tuesday before a Senate commission investigating federal government omissions in the handling of the pandemic, but presented a petition to postpone his testimony saying he was in quarantine after arriving from India, according to a statement from his lawyers.
Anvisa approved the importation of the Covaxin vaccine with restrictions on June 4, allowing the entry of only 4 million doses. In March, the agency had rejected a request to import the vaccine, citing concerns over a lack of documentation and information on its safety.