Brazil asks India to expedite Covid vaccine shipment

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to expedite a shipment of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine amid broader delays to the vaccine's arrival in Brazil. According to a letter on Friday released by his press office, comes amid growing pressure to speed up Brazil's vaccine rollout and end the world's second-deadliest coronavirus outbreak.  "To enable the immediate implementation of our National Immunization Program, I would appreciate ... the supply to Brazil, with the possible urgency and without jeopardizing the Indian vaccination program, of 2 million doses," Bolsonaro wrote in the letter, shared by his press office.

His message to PM Modi comes as the federally funded Fiocruz biomedical center said on Friday that the active ingredients needed to fill and finish millions of doses of AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine in Brazil. Fiocruz said it was in talks to import more finished doses of the vaccine, likely from India on top of the 2 million it has already ordered. According to media reports Bolsonaro is facing criticism in the country. Critics say the immunization campaign is running behind regional peers, and they question why the government has not moved more quickly.