RIO DE JANEIRO, June 5. /TASS/. Board members of the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency (Anvisa) voted to approve imports and limited use of Russia’s Sputnik V anti-coronavirus vaccine during a meeting on Friday night, broadcast live on Anvisa’s YouTube channel.

The proposal, read out by board member Alex Machado Campus stipulates “temporarily permitting, under exceptional terms, imports of the vaccine in the following numbers, which correspond to 1% of the states’ population in accordance with the June 2021 vaccination schedule: Bahia – 300,000 doses, Maranhao – 141,000 doses, Sergipe – 46,000 doses, Seara – 183,000 doses, Pernambuco – 192,000 doses, Piaui – 66,000 doses.”

In his opinion, this amount of the vaccine would be sufficient for the initial stage of vaccination. Reports about the vaccination and its results will be submitted to Anvisa and will help to decide on future supplies.

The proposal was supported by three other members of the five-member board, including Anvisa Director-President Antonio Barra Torres. One of the members opposed the decision.

Debates that preceded the voting lasted more than seven hours.

The decision does not imply state registration of Sputnik V in Brazil.

Apart from Sputnik V, the Brazilian regulator also authorized imports and limited use of India’s anti-coronavirus vaccine, Covaxin.

On April 26, the Brazilian regulator denied permission to import and use the Russian vaccine Sputnik V in the country. The regulator’s meeting lasted more than four hours. Experts’ conclusions and their opinions regarding the safety and effectiveness of the Russian vaccine were presented. On May 22, the watchdog received the missing papers about the vaccine’s quality and efficacy.

Delivery due in July

Russia’s Sputnik V anti-coronavirus vaccine will be delivered to Brazil in July, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) Kirill Dmitriev said.

“SputnikV will arrive in Brazil in July,” Dmitriev was quoted as saying in the vaccine’s official Twitter account.

Brazil has become the 67th country to approve the use of Sputnik V. The vaccine is the world’s second most popular in terms of the number of approvals issued by government regulators.

On Friday, Brazil’s national sanitary watchdog, Anvisa, approved imports and limited use of the Russian vaccine in the country.

“The decision by ANVISA to authorize the import and use of Sputnik V by states in Brazil is a long-awaited event for people in Brazil who will obtain access to one of the best COVID vaccines in the world. While a comprehensive data package had been sent to ANVISA initially, no questions raised by the regulators were left unanswered after its decision to delay the authorization of Sputnik V. The Russian side provided all additional data,” Kirill Dmitriev, the CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, was quoted as saying on the vaccine’s official website.

“With the approval of the vaccine in several states Brazil will become the most populated country of South America to use the Russian vaccine. We are looking forward to further effective cooperation with partners in the country to save lives and overcome the pandemic,” he said.