Timeline: Tracking Latin America's Road to Vaccination - AS/COA Online

Approvals and Agreements

March 9, 2021 — Mexico announces a 12 million-dose deal to acquire the not-yet-approved Chinese vaccine Sinopharm to arrive between March and June, and an additional deal with Sinovac to receive a total of 20 million doses by July. This comes one week after U.S. President Joe Biden responded to the Mexican government’s request for help with vaccines, saying the United States will not be sharing any with its southern neighbor in the immediate future.

March 3 — Nicaragua approves Russian Sputnik V vaccine for emergency use.

March 1 — Venezuela approves emergency use for China's Sinopharm vaccine.

February 27 — Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccine received regulatory approval for emergency use in the United States for people 18 years of age and older. Chile, Colombia, Brazil, Mexico, and Peru all conducted clinical trials with this American vaccine, but no regulatory approval in the region has taken place yet.

February 26 — Brazil signs a deal to buy 20 million Covaxin shot doses from India’s Bharat Biotech institute, worth $290,000. The first 8 million are slated to arrive in March, and the whole lot by May.

February 25 — Guatemala approves the Russian vaccine Sputnik V for emergency use.

February 24 — Honduras approves the Russian vaccine Sputnik V for emergency use.

February 23 — Brazil approves full use—rather than just emergency use—of Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine, despite not having a supply deal. The authorization by health regulator Anvisa is the first of its kind in the region, with emergency use a fast-tracked green light for a medication by regulators, given its urgency.

On this day, Colombia’s regulator approves emergency use for AstraZeneca-Oxford’s vaccine.

February 21 — Argentina approves China’s Sinopharm vaccine for emergency use and says it expects to receive 1 million doses. The country also underwent a vaccine scandal resulting in Health Minister Ginés González García resigning on February 19, after it became known he used connections to give fast access to vaccines to people not yet entitled to inoculation. Health Minister Carla Vizzotti assumed the role on February 20, and pledged better oversight of vaccine distribution.

February 10 — Mexico approves emergency use for the Chinese vaccine CanSino along with Sinovac’s CoronaVac, bringing the total number of vaccines authorized in Mexico to five. The development is important news in the country, where Pfizer production delays had resulted in vaccinations coming to a near standstill, although the country was slated to receive, over the course of February, doses from AstraZeneca, Pfizer, and NovaVax.

February 9 — Argentina reaches an agreement with Chinese firm Sinopharm to purchase 1 million vaccine doses, pending regulatory approval. The government expects the first shipment to arrive at the end of the month. Also, Argentina approves emergency use of the Covishield vaccine produced at India’s Serum Institute, becoming the third approved vaccine in the country. This shot is manufactured in collaboration with firm AstraZeneca and University of Oxford, and is manufactured using the similar technology.

February 6 — Pfizer-BioNTech applies for full regulatory approval in Brazil.

February 4 — Peru reaches a deal to buy 20 million doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines. Interim President Francisco Sagasti announces that over 500,000 doses will arrive by April, with the first half arriving in March.

February 3 — Colombia approves the Chinese Sinovac vaccine for emergency use.

January 27 — Chilean regulatory agency ISP approves emergency use of 6 million doses of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine, the third regulatory approval in the country.

January 26 — Mexican President AMLO announces that state governors may acquire vaccines on their own accounts, after the country recorded the highest daily record of new confirmed cases to date—over 22,000 in 24 hours. AMLO, who confirmed he’d tested positive for COVID-19 two days earlier, also announces that Mexico will buy 24 million doses of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine despite this vaccine not being approved by Mexican regulatory agencies yet.

January 22 — Brazilian regulators approve the use of Sinovac’s locally manufactured CoronaVac vaccine, which allows for a distribution of 4.8 million more doses, on top of the 6 million doses made in China already in distribution.

Firm União Quimica in Brazil begins local production of the Sputnik V vaccine—still without regulatory approval—with the goal to manufacture 8 million monthly doses for distribution.

January 20 — Mexico’s Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard announces that AstraZeneca-Oxford’s active substance for the vaccine’s domestic production has arrived from Argentina paving the way to produce 6 million doses that are estimated to be ready for use as early as late March.

Chile approves emergency use of Chinese firm Sinovac’s vaccine CoronaVac, the second vaccine approved in the country.

January 17 — Brazilian regulator Anvisa approves both the AstraZeneca-Oxford and Sinovac vaccines for use. Minutes after Anvisa’s announcement, São Paulo state authorities begin vaccinating citizens. Health Minister Eduardo Pazuello announces that a national vaccination campaign would begin on January 20.

January 15 — Paraguay becomes the fourth Latin American country to approve Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine’s use.

January 13 — Venezuela approves emergency use of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine, the third Latin American country to do so.

Bolivia signs a deal with India’s Serum Institute for 5 million doses of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine. The first 1 million doses are slated to arrive in April.

January 12 — Guatemala signs purchase agreements with Johnson & Johnson, Moderna, and Pfizer.

January 6 – Bolivia approves emergency use of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine. On December 30, Russia committed to delivering 2.6 million doses to the South American country.

Peru’s government purchases 52 million vaccine doses—38 million from Chinese firm Sinopharm and 14 million from AstraZeneca-Oxford. Interim President Sagasti announces that 1 million doses of the Chinese vaccine will arrive by end of January, while the British vaccine is slated to arrive in September. He also announces that Peru plans to vaccinate around 15 million Peruvians, about half of the population, by June.

January 5 — Colombian health regulator Invima authorizes emergency use of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, marking the first approval under the country’s vaccination plan. Colombia is set to receive the first delivery of 1.7 million Pfizer vaccines in February, and Colombians over 60 years old, those with health risks, and health workers are first in line.

Brazil’s Health and Foreign Ministries issued a statement announcing that its public health center Fiocruz is in advanced talks with India’s Serum Institute in order to receive a shipment of AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccines produced from the Asian country. A day earlier, Fiocruz presented the regulator Anvisa with information about the affiliate producer in India and says it will evaluate that vaccine compared to the one produced in the United Kingdom before deciding on potential emergency approval.

January 4 — Mexico approves the use of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine, the second one authorized for use since Pfizer-BioNTech's vaccine was approved in December. Foreign Minister Ebrard tweets that production in Mexico will start very soon, referring to the plan announced in August to produce up to 250 million doses for Latin America in collaboration with Argentina.

January 2 — Brazil’s Anvisa announces it approved a request from leading entity Fiocruz to import 2 million doses of the not yet authorized AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine. Fiocruz agreed in June last year to locally produce the British vaccine in a $127 million government deal. The regulator says this import is to speed inoculation once vaccine use is approved. As of this date, Brazil has yet to approve any vaccine for use.

December 31, 2020 — Dominican Republic’s health regulator approves the use of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine in the Caribbean nation.

December 30 — Argentina authorizes the use of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine, hours after Britain gives it the green light. The South American country is the first in Latin America to do so.

El Salvador approves importing, distributing, and using the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine. On November 24, President Nayib Bukele had announced an agreement with the British firm two purchase 2 million doses to arrive in the first three months of 2021.

December 29 — Brazil urges COVID-19 vaccine producers to speed up applications for use in the country as pressure grows for President Jair Bolsonaro to start vaccinations. Meanwhile, Russia requests regulatory approval from Anvisa to launch Phase 3 trials of the Sputnik V vaccine in Brazil.

December 22 — Argentina’s health regulator authorizes the use of Pfizer-BioNTech's vaccine.

December 16 — Ecuador’s health regulator approves use for Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine.

December 15 — Panama approved emergency use for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.

December 11 — Mexico’s medical safety commission approves the use of Pfizer-BioNTech’s vaccine, the fourth country to do so after Britain, Canada, and Bahrain.

December 8 — Brazil signs a letter of intent with U.S. firm Pfizer and German lab BioNTech to secure the delivery of over 70 million vaccine doses in 2021.

December 3 — Brazil’s Senate approves Bolsonaro’s decree designating $370 million to purchase doses of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine. Health Minister Pazuello said a day earlier that 100 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine would arrive in the first half of 2021.

November 15 — Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro announces he will purchase 10 million doses of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine for administration in the first quarter of 2021. He also says that additional doses of the Russian vaccine will be produced in Venezuelan laboratories.

November 7 — Argentina makes a deal with firm AstraZeneca to receive 22 million vaccine doses, which it anticipates will come in the first six months of 2021.

November 2 — Argentina’s president announces an agreement with Russia to purchase 10 to 25 million doses of the Sputnik V vaccine, which will be delivered at some point between December and the first half of January 2021.

October 26 — Ecuador announces it will spend roughly $150 million to acquire 14 million doses to immunize 70 percent of the population. The country is in talks with several laboratories for this purchase, including AstraZeneca and Pfizer, as well as the COVAX Facility.

October 13 — The Mexican government announces the signing of additional agreements to acquire up to 198 million vaccine doses, including from the WHO’s COVAX Facility and the international laboratories of AstraZeneca, Pfizer, and CanSino Biologics. Mexico is negotiating to test Phase 3 vaccines from the following laboratories: CanSino (China), Curevac (Germany), Janssen (United States), Novavax (United States), Sanofi-Pasteur (France), Sputnik V (Russia), ReiThera, (Italy). Mexico has so far paid $281 million of the $1.6 billion total value of the vaccines.

October 11 — Peru signs an agreement with Pfizer to receive a first batch of 9.9 million vaccine doses, with further plans to secure a total 1.75 million doses through the first quarter of 2021. The two-dose vaccine would immunize about half a million people.

September 30 — São Paulo Governor João Doria signs a $90 million contract to buy 46 million doses of the Chinese Sinovac vaccine. Its distribution is slated to begin on December 15.

September 24 — Brazil announces it will set aside $450 million to join the WHO’s COVAX Facility, and will buy enough doses to inoculate 10 percent of the population by the end of 2021.

September 22 — Chilean President Sebastián Piñera announces an agreement for Chile to receive 10 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. He also announces an agreement with the COVAX Facility, which will allow for 8 million doses of a vaccine “of choice, with WHO approval,” he says. The president reiterates Chile’s plan to acquire 14.4 million doses of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine. (The estimated population of Chile in 2020 is just over 19 million, according to the UN.)

September 9 — The Russian Direct Investment Fund announces it will supply Mexico’s Landsteiner Scientific laboratory with 32 million doses of the Sputnik V vaccine in November, pending regulatory approval.

August 13 — López Obrador says the Oxford-AstraZeneca University distribution of the vaccine in Mexico will be “universal and free.” Should regulatory agencies find the vaccine effective, the laboratory could produce up to 35 million vaccine doses monthly. On August 16, López Obrador suggests the vaccine could be administered as early as the first quarter of 2021.

August 12 — Argentine President Fernández announces that the national laboratory mAbxience signed an agreement with AstraZeneca and Oxford University to produce a COVID-19 vaccine, in Phase 3 of testing. The president said that between 150 and 250 million doses would be available for distribution across Latin America within the first six months of 2021. Brazil is not included in this projection, as it has its own agreement for production and distribution with the British entities. Argentina also agreed with Mexico that, while the first stage of production—making the active substance—will take place in Argentina, the final steps will take place in Mexico’s Biomont laboratory.

The same day, Mexican Foreign Minister Ebrard says Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim will finance production of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine in partnership with Argentina to be distributed across Latin America.

In Brazil, the Paraná state government announces it’s signed a document of mutual understanding with Russia, and a local technology institute, Tecpar, which said it expects to produce a Russian vaccine by the latter half of 2021. On July 29, Paraná made an agreement with Chinese firm Sinopharm to launch a vaccine trial, pending regulatory approval.

August 7 — Brazilian billionaire Jorge Lemann’s foundation, alongside other private-sector investments, announce they will pay $18 million for the construction of a factory to produce the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.

June 27 — Brazil’s Health Ministry signs an agreement with AstraZeneca Brazil for local production of the Oxford vaccine, a $127 million deal to produce it with leading public health entity Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, or Fiocruz, with the goal of producing 30 million doses by January 2021. One day earlier, President Jair Bolsonaro announces he will set aside roughly $356 million to buy the first 100 million doses of this vaccine and support domestic production.

June 11 — The governor of the Brazilian state of São Paulo announces that the government’s Butantan Institute, a center for scientific study, will partner with Sinovac Biotech to develop the Chinese COVID-19 vaccine.

Published On: Mon, 15 Mar 2021 12:00:00 GMT