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Brazil Senate recalls current, ex-health ministers to COVID-19 probe By Syndicated Content
May 26, 2021 | 2:36 PM
BRASILIA (Reuters) â Brazilian senators conducting a high-profile inquiry into President Jair Bolsonaroâs handling of the coronavirus pandemic on Wednesday voted to recall the current and former health ministers for more testimony, as well as summon nine state governors for the first time.
Senators are grilling government officials and other stakeholders to seek answers as to why Brazil has become the country with the worldâs second-highest COVID-19 death toll, with more than 450,000 fatalities. The probe may pose a headache for Bolsonaro, who has long sought to play down the severity of the virus, ahead of next yearâs presidential election.
2021-05-26 22:05:34 GMT2021-05-27 06:05:34(Beijing Time) Xinhua English
BRASILIA, May 26 (Xinhua) Brazilian Health Minister Marcelo Queiroga announced on Wednesday that the government is set to sign a contract with pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca next week to produce the active ingredient to make the vaccine against COVID-19. With the connections made by the Ministry of Health, it will be possible, with everyone s commitment, to vaccinate the Brazilian population over 18 years old by the end of 2021, Queiroga said during a hearing in the Chamber of Deputies.
According to the minister, the contract signing should take place on June 1 in a ceremony that will be attended by Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, and then the product will be manufactured by the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation in Rio de Janeiro.
Brazilian senators conducting a high-profile inquiry into President Jair Bolsonaro's handling of the coronavirus pandemic on Wednesday voted to recall the current and former health ministers for more testimony, as well as summon nine state governors for the first time.