Daily US Times: Brazil’s health regulator Anvisa has announced that the trial of a Chinese coronavirus vaccine, developed by Chinese firm Sinovac Biotech, can resume.
Anvisa suspended Brazil’s trial of Sinovac’s vaccine two days ago, citing a “severe adverse incident” – reported to be the death of a volunteer.
The head of the institute conducting the trial said the volunteer’s death had no connection to the vaccine.
Anvisa said in a statement on Wednesday that it now had “sufficient information to allow vaccination to resume”.
It said: “It is important to clarify that a suspension does not necessarily mean that the product under investigation does not offer quality, safety or efficacy.”
Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro earlier declared the suspension a “victory”.
Mr Bolsonaro has long criticised the vaccine because of its Chinese links and said it would not be purchased by his country. The Brazilian President has also engaged in a political fight with João Doria, the governor of São Paulo, who has publicly backed the trial.
The President has not yet commented on Anvisa’s announcement that the trial can resume.
The Chinese vaccine is one of several in final-stage testing globally. The Chinese firm says it is “confident in the safety of the vaccine.”
Brazil has recorded more than 5.6m confirmed coronavirus cases – the third highest tally in the world after the US and India. It also counts 163,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data.
Brazil is one of the worst affected countries by the coronavirus.
You may read: China’s Sinovac Covid vaccine trial halted in Brazil
