Brazil administers 2.56 million vaccine doses in 24h

Brazil has set a new record by administering 2,561,533 doses of the vaccine against COVID-19 in 24 hours. The number—the highest since the vaccination campaign was launched—was announced by the country’s Ministry of Health after data were submitted by the states.

More than 60.38 million Brazilians had received the first dose of the inoculation by Thursday, and some 24.03 million had taken both doses, surpassing 84.1 million doses administered.

Today (Jun. 18), while in Rio de Janeiro reporting the figures on the city’s epidemiological status, Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga said that the count reached Thursday (17) is a demonstration of the “power” of Brazil’s network of public hospitals and health care stations, the Unified Health Care System, or SUS.

“Those who question the immunization program are in for a big surprise. Administering 2 million doses of a vaccine is no easy task,” the minister declared, after underscoring the importance of vaccinating the population in order to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic.

Deaths

“The moment still requires caution. There has been a reduction in the number of deaths since I took over the ministry, but the moving average of deaths—around 2 thousand—is still high and we must work to lower it. And our hope to achieve that is the vaccine,” Queiroga added, stressing that the federal government has distributed some 109.29 million doses of the inoculation to states and municipalities.