Brazil’s national fitness regulator, Anvisa, announced (April 19) that it approved new clinical trials of a COVID-19 vaccine last Friday (16).
The vaccine candidate will consist of two doses spaced 22 days apart. Clinical progression is performed through the Chinese company Sichuan Clover Biopharmaceuticals.
The clinical trial is placebo-controlled to compare the efficacy, immunogenicity, and protection of inoculation in patients over 18 years of age.
Probably 22,000 volunteers from Belgium, China, Poland, South Africa, Spain and the United Kingdom will participate in this stage. In Brazil, 12,100 volunteers are expected to participate in the states of Rio Grande do Sul, Rio Grande do Norte and Rio de Janeiro.
To allow the start of clinical trials, Anvisa held meetings with its pharmaceutical team to assess all the technical needs of the tests.
Since Brazil declared a state of public calamity due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, the watchdog has continued to accelerate investigations and decisions on measures to combat COVID-19.
“One of the methods was to create a committee to compare clinical trials, registration, and post-registration adjustments of drugs for the prevention or treatment of diseases. The organization is also running to lessen the threat of drug shortages affecting public health care due to the pandemic,” the text adds.
To grant its approval, Anvisa analyzed knowledge from past stages of product development, adding in vitro and animal testing, as well as initial knowledge from ongoing clinical trials. The effects obtained imply an adequate protection profile for the candidate vaccines.
This is the sixth vaccine against the new coronavirus legal through Anvisa. The latest authorizations were granted on June 2, 2020 for clinical trials of the vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and the company AstraZeneca; July 2, for the Sinovac Research vaccine
In an interview with Agência Brasil, Professor Reis of PUC-RS pointed out that the state capital, Porto Alegre, is an alluvial plain domain characterized by the confluence of rivers. “It’s a plant formation. ” However, we can flood well by operating containment dikes,” he added.
It is estimated that the assistance will benefit some 200,000 families in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, for a total amount of more than $230 million.
“We express our absolute solidarity with [Brazil] and we make ourselves available to help the victims soon and the reconstruction of the state’s infrastructure,” said CAF President Sergio Diaz-Granados.
The announcement was made Tuesday on social media by the president of the New Development Bank, Dilma Rousseff. Since late April, the state has been hit hard by storms and flooding.
Although the rains decreased in the last 24 hours in the southern state, the flow of the Guaíba River continues to grow, alarming the citizens of the metropolitan domain of Porto Alegre and causing more damage and disturbances.
The result is down 23% compared to the fourth quarter of last year, a characteristic that is believed to be due to the devaluation of the currency at the end of the year, added to the decrease in sales of oil and its derivatives.
Due to the heavy rains that ravaged the state two weeks ago, more than a million people have been forced to leave their homes.
The phenomenon is expected to be noticed between Monday and Wednesday, when thermometers register temperatures lower degrees Celsius. The rains are expected to move to the neighboring states in the south of the country.
These are the remains of animals and plants that lived in the northeast more than 180 kilometers ago. The pieces were donated to the museum, which is lately being rebuilt after the 2018 fire, through the circle of relatives of collector Burkart Pohl, of the Swiss German Interprospekt Group.
They say that the generation has had a positive impact, with greater speed in information, and a negative impact, since academics lose focus. Educators also reported structural and pedagogical problems that save them from using the generation.