At a public hearing in the House of Representatives, Foreign Minister, Carlos Fransa, defended that breaking the patents on vaccines against covid-19 is not the best way to speed up the vaccination of the population.
For a counselor appointed less than a month ago, this breach will not have immediate effects. Carlos Fransa pointed out a third way. For him, it is possible to look for where there is excess demand and where there is production capacity.
Temporary breaks for vaccine patents have been debated by the National Congress for a few months. Parliamentarians came to vote in the Senate, but the bill was withdrawn at the last minute, at the government’s request.
In October last year, India and South Africa submitted to the World Trade Organization a proposal to suspend patents on products to combat the novel coronavirus.
The proposal was supported by more than 100 countries. But countries like the United States and the United Kingdom are against this measure. Brazil also did not take a stance in favor of breaking the patent immunization.
Carlos Fransa, who attended the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Wednesday, said to take the opportunity to talk about Brazil’s relationship with China, and the minister said that the Asian country is a major partner in obtaining immunity. France has also informed parliamentarians that it has dealt with the purchase of 30 million doses of another vaccine, BBIBP-CorV, produced by the Chinese company Sinopharm. This immunization has not been approved by Anvisa.
The minister also said that he is in dialogue with India, Israel and the United States about obtaining more doses of vaccines against the Corona virus.
About the Russian vaccine Sputnik Vê, which Anvisa refused to import request, the Brazilian consultant said he hopes the pending issues will be resolved soon.
