Brazil to be independent regarding vaccines production in 2022

As of 2022, Brazil will be independent regarding the production of COVID-19 vaccines and will be prepared for future pandemics, said Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Marcos Pontes. “If the planet does not want to sell vaccines to Brazil, Brazil will sell vaccines to the planet,” said the minister during an interview on the EBC radio program A Voz do Brasil to be aired Friday night (Dec. 31).

Pontes said the ministry has invested in 15 types of vaccine technologies. “There is no doubt that this structure will serve for other pandemics that we shall have in the future. It will also be useful for neglected diseases such as dengue, zika and chikungunya. Besides that, we will expand the research infrastructure for emerging viruses and virus diseases. I call this the shield program through which Brazil will be much better prepared for the next pandemics. We cannot go through a pandemic and not learn from it”.

The minister also mentioned some Ministry’s projects for 2022, such as the construction of a level 4 biosafety laboratory, which will be the first one in Latin America; the start of operations of the National Sea Institute; the construction of Cryosphere 2 in the Antarctic region; the increase in the number of remote laboratories in the Amazon –  he expects to reach 50 stations; the development of the first niobium and graphene battery and the increase of biofuel technologies.

A Voz do Brasil

The participation of the head of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation on EBC radio program Brazil’s Voice is part of a number of interviews that will be aired until the last day of the year. The program will be regularly broadcast on Dec. 31.

A Voz do Brasil is broadcast on all Brazilian radio broadcasting stations, between 7:00 pm and 10:00 pm (Brasilia local time), Monday through Friday. The program can also be seen on social medias and on TV Brasil Gov channel on YouTube.